Time To Spend
by DwDoJo
Summary: "When Tsuna is older, does he really have time to spend with his family?" About our family-time deprived Vongola boss and how he spends his time with his Family. And the pieces are beginning to fit together on how he can protect them all.
1. Prologue

**Went through some re-editing for putting in markers. Sorry to those who receive mass amounts of emails of it being updated. Hello to all new readers~!**

**My Thought: "When Tsuna is older, does he really have time to spend with his family?"**

**My Answer: I surely hope so. D:**

**Prologue**

**-x-**

It was in a simple picture. It wasn't blown up and became a huge portrait, but sat quietly at the corner of his desk, with a simple black frame, _'For Tsuna' _plainly and seemingly roughly (as in last minute) etched in on the bottom of the frame.

It was the Vongola Family picture.

And everyone was in it. It was a wonder how they were able to get everybody together, which includes the Cavallone (Chiavorone) and their mafia leader, Dino. Nobody could figure out how Hibari and Kusakabe joined in, but apparently on fine print, they were there.

It was the whole family. Together.

All except one.

And well, he was away during the time, and he regrets that he was. He went off on his own to do something that no one else could do, and he had missed the family picture.

His eyes fell upon the picture once again, and he raised his hand to graze the top of the frame.

Tsuna sighed. He shouldn't have missed it. Everyone here looked all full of happiness and smiles. … Well, sort of.

(Gokudera was growling at Yamamoto who was laughing; Haru and Kyoko was about to drop their cakes; Lambo and Ipin were both fussing with each other, Fuuta in the middle; Ryohei accidentally smacked Kusakabe, which in return received a glare from both pompadour and Hibari; Bianchi (with her face mask) was talking with Lal Mirch who was surprised of a picture being taken, and the list could still continue on and on.)

The picture alone was a masterpiece, every art in any form all rolled into one.

And he couldn't be there to enjoy such an unforgettable moment.

He seized the picture in his hands, dusting away flecks of dust that dared to lay upon the frame's surface and glass.

But he had to be gone. He had to be gone to protect …

To protect this.

-x-

**So, I ask one question: What do you think?**

**- Do Jo**


	2. Waiting?

**Waiting?**

**-x-**

Tsuna leaned back on his chair, relaxing his muscles. His desk surface couldn't be seen; it was covered with mountains of paper, which was finally tackled and tamed. They sat there in neat piles, those letters and signature sheets. Another sigh escaped him, one of victory.

'_But what to expect for being a Vongola Boss?' _He thought to himself, closing his eyes. _'After all, it's been 10 years already. What more could I do?'_

Then his cell rang. He ignored it as it vibrated. It ended.

He sighed again.

And it rang again. He didn't want to pick it up, but if it's twice…

"Hello?" Tsuna answered. "Tired and wilting Vongola Boss speaking."

"Ah, Tsuna-nii…" It was Fuuta. …His voice really had changed, Tsuna noted. After all, he was already a young man, but for some reason, Tsuna still could imagine him as that little boy who moved in with him and his family some time ago. He could hear the voice on the other line chuckling a bit.

"Fuuta," Tsuna started, now sitting up. "Need something?"

"Ah, yes. Uhm.. Well.." Fuuta started, not really able to find the right words.

"Ask away, Fuuta. No need to hesitate."

"I'm sorry to ask you at such a busy time, but -" Fuuta sighed. "Something suddenly turned up and I can't pick up Lambo from school today…"

Tsuna chuckled. "Oh, you need someone to pick him up?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Don't be. It's fine. And I'm not busy." Then Tsuna added mentally, '_As of right now…'_

It sounded like he could hear Fuuta smiling. "Thank you, Tsuna-nii." Then a sigh. "I'm being so irresponsible right now."

Tsuna grinned. " Not really. Things come up in life, Fuuta, and by asking you family to help you out is responsible enough." He heard another sigh, but this time with relief. He continued. "Anyway, I haven't seen him for quite some time. This would be a good chance to meet up with him."

"Ahah. He may be a handful."

"I was like him once. I can see what I can do."

"Thank you again. Bye."

"Bye."

It was at this time that Gokudera had walked in through the doors. "Ah, Juudaime. Who was that just now?" He set down some papers on another desk in the room and began walking over toward his boss.

Tsuna shut his phone and smiled. "It was Fuuta. He asked a request for us to pick up Lambo."

Gokudera had already flashed out his phone at 'request'. "The cow? Alright, I'll call for -" He then stopped dialing as Tsuna signaled for him to stop.

"No, not this time. I'll pick him up." Tsuna then frowned as he reached for his keys and stood up. "And for once will you just call the boy by his name? It's probably the reason why he doesn't like you so much."

"No way, boss. He needs to learn a few manners."

"And this is coming from a guy who slyly bypasses the rules?"

Gokudera turned away, pursing his lips. "Tch."

"Well, anyway, I'm going to pick up Lambo. Would you mind staying behind for this time?"

"What?" Gokudera refused. "No, I must go with you."

"You and Lambo still don't get along. And the risk of Hibari's school being blown up again?" Tsuna shook his head, a big frown saying 'no no' on his face. "I think not. And I'm sure Hibari's really not going to be happy with a school disaster. We should know that after the first time (from just doing PART of the school -the most neglected area of the school) that it should NEVER be done… again."

Gokudera sighed clearly remembering the incident four years ago, when they were reckless and manning up, as well as his boss being some what well out of character for teaming up with Lambo… which was kind of shocking. The aftermath wasn't so pretty either.

He sighed in defeat. "I gotchya."

Tsuna smiled. "And call Yamamoto to keep you company." Amused with Gokudera's reaction, he headed outside.

-x-

"Hummmmmmm…."

….

"Hummm…"

Lambo opened up an eye to catch a full glimpse of the sky drifting above him. He yawned and sat up, fixing his ruffled hair. He was on the rooftop of the school.

And Fuuta was late.

Normally, he would be picking him up at this time. Fuuta knows his schedule and knows that he is to be picked up after cleaning duty (which he dreaded).

Lambo hated cleaning duty. He practically hated the school for giving him such a job. And it had occurred to him many times that he wanted to blow up the school. It had worked once, but never again. And from there, the ability to deal with toilets was born. It was his permanent job for the next four years since he blew up the school. It was considered for Lambo to be a plumber as a back ground job, many of his seniors joked at school and at home. He absolutely refused to become the official plumber of the Vongola family.

There was the click of a door heard from behind him and the teen instantly said, "Fuuta, you're late."

No response was made, but footsteps coming from behind came closer.

When the steps stopped, Lambo looked up, and he surely expected it to be Fuuta on his "off" days. But it wasn't him. It was Tsuna, his face looking down at him.

"Ah, Boss." Lambo opened his other eye, blinking in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

Tsuna replied mockingly. "Am I not allowed to be here?"

Lambo shrugged and looked ahead. "It's just odd seeing you here. Where's Fuuta?"

Tsuna moved to stand beside Lambo, also looking at the view. "He had something to do and asked me to pick you up."

There was a moment of silence. Neither said a word. That is until Tsuna sat down next to the teen, a grin on his face. Lambo grumbled, "Why are you smiling?"

"It's just not everyday where I see you at school. Also to add that this used to be my school as well." The boss then asked. "How's been school?"

Instantly, words spurted out from the teen, "Hell. I wanna blow it up. Blow the roof off the whole thing."

Tsuna chuckled, a sweat forming on his forehead. "Haha. We already blew up a part of it once, and I don't think it would be wise to do it again. We don't want the same incident to occur now that your principal is wary of us." He could see the horrible bloody images that had happened four years ago. "We were reckless then. We don't want the chance to die again either."

"Shouldn't we go home now?" Lambo asked impatiently.

"What's the rush?"

"I'm already gone by now if it's Fuuta."

"I'm not Fuuta am I?"

Lambo frowned. Years ago, ten years to be exact, the Tsuna before him used to be small and weak, scared of every little thing, especially the bombs that him as a little boy randomly threw at him or anywhere recklessly. The Tsuna before him…He's not the Tsuna he knew. Where did he come from? When did he change?

Lambo hadn't seen him as often now. Not like before.

"You're barely home anymore."

"Hm?"

"You weren't there."

Tsuna raised a brow in confusion then the thought hit him. "Ah… The Vongola Family Picture, right?"

"Yeah."

Another chuckle came from the boss. "I didn't want to miss it." He then sighed. "I had something to do."

"That's always the excuse nowadays." Lambo trained forward with frustration.

Tsuna then looked at Lambo for a moment. The teen didn't dare look at him.

"Were you waiting for me?"

Lambo opened his eyes again.

"I'm sorry…" Tsuna apologized softly. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

After another moment of silence, he continued.

"Fuuta told me that one day you were waiting. You only told him you were waiting for someone, and that you refused to leave until he appeared, but apparently, that person you were waiting for never came."

The teen clearly remembered that day. He was alone, waiting. He was waiting for that person to come, but just as he said, he never did that day.

And it had to be _that_ day, the day they took that picture.

_He_ should've been there, too.

But he was late. Really late. And he was angry at him. Angry for every moment that he missed, and he didn't even say why he would miss out.

He frowned, hissing out, "What are you talking about?"

Lambo refused to show it.

He refused to show that he forgave him for doing such a mean thing.

But he wanted to. He forgave him.

It was enough. He just said sorry right? There was no point to keep holding on against him.

He was here - _now_.

Tsuna smiled again. "You were waiting for a sorry weren't you?"

Lambo frowned more, looking the other way to avoid revealing his face. A hand found his head and began ruffling his hair, hard.

"ow - OW!" Lambo yelled. "Quit it!"

"Ahah. Stubborn now, aren't we? Probably cleaning more toilets in the Vongola HQ would make you happier?"

"What?" Lambo jumped up, refusing with a passion. "No!"

Tsuna stood up next to him. "Perhaps plumbing will do you some good too?"

"No, it won't!" Lambo growled, getting ready to punch him.

"Alright. Alright." Tsuna raised his hands in defeat, then blinked. "Hmm… I think ice cream sounds good today."

Lambo brought his defensive hands down. "Ice cream?" He noticed that Tsuna was now looking over the fence of the roof.

"Ah, I-pin!" Tsuna called out, seeing the girl walking by herself to the gates of the school. Lambo peered over also to see the girl.

The girl looked up and smiled. "Ah, Tsuna-san! Lambo!"

Tsuna then turned to Lambo. " 'Lambo'?" He obviously found the tone to be much, much different from before. "Am I missing something?" Tsuna cooed with a silly grin.

Lambo blushed. "Ah…"

Tsuna then smiled down at the girl. "I-pin, wait for us. We're going to get some ice cream."

She smiled happily, giving a nod.

-x-

Gokudera looked up from his desk to find Tsuna entering through the doors, an ice cream in both hands. "Ice cream?"

Tsuna nodded, handing him one ice cream - chocolate flavored. "I went out with Lambo and I-pin to get some ice cream after picking them up from school. I surely have missed a lot, no? Those two have grown up a lot… It's kind of a shame I haven't been around though."

Gokudera's heart sank at this statement. "Boss…"

"Ah, where's Yamamoto?" He quickly asked, lifting up the other ice cream - vanilla. "I bought this one for him."

Gokudera suggested, "He may be outside patrolling the grounds."

Tsuna nodded and quickly went out, hoping the ice cream wouldn't melt too soon.

Gokudera stood from his seat, staring at his ice cream. He then frowned.

He liked vanilla better than chocolate.

-x-

**So let's just say the Vongola family has a mansion far off in the middle of somewhere. Lambo would need a ride home. Yes, this was edited, but no major changes. **

- DoJo


	3. Grandchildren!

**Grandchildren?**

**-x-  
**

Tsuna stared at his computer screen. Very long and hard. It was a simple sentence. Very short too, but somehow it surely did wonders. Also, it shouldn't be awkward either. After all, it was from his dear father. He read it again…

**Tsuna, come visit me at Namimori Temple. I want to talk about the future lineage, ****GRANDCHILDREN****, my son!**

Aaahhh, correction. It was actually two sentences… He missed the period. And did those sentence wash him over… thrice now. (It took three times to finally get it through his thick skull.)

Tsuna sighed, resting his hands on the keyboard. The message came over to him on email. Heck, he was surprised his father knew how to work email correctly, but then again he considered the fact that his pops was in the mafia business for how long and had to confront many other complicated functions of machinery. It wasn't that long ago since he realized that fact, and he learned it when he officially became the boss. It surely was a thought, and Tsuna wondered if his mother had any idea what both of them were up to for however so many years, or that she already had a keen eye on it and decided to just hope for the best.

So, that was it.

"I'm going over to Namimori Temple, Gokudera…"

Gokudera looked up from his desk. "Heh, leaving again? And to Namimori Temple? Does Hibari need you?"

"No, it's not him this time. It's my father." A pause. "Nothing bad is happening. He just wants to talk, father and son conversation." He decided to leave the whole "planning for the future family" topic out of it.

"Ah, I see…" Gokudera nodded. "I could look over things for you."

Tsuna smiled, though in the inside he frowned. He really didn't want to go. It just didn't seem right… no, weird. Why would his father bring up such a random topic?

-x-

Iemistu proclaimed, "I'm growing old here, Tsuna. I won't be around very long and I want to be alive to see the day my grandchildren open their eyes to their world, son!" He pulled at his hair now, "My hair is turning gray already, practically white! Don't make me wait until I'm an old, wrinkled faggy to see my grand kids cry at the very sight of me! I would beat the brains out of you if that were to happen, and there's nothinnnnng you can do about it!"

Tsuna sweat dropped. "Ah…"

Iemitsu took out a bottle of wine, this already his fifth, and poured it into his cup. "Seriously, you're around the age now to start planning a family. I surely will tell you that I was. You're mom and I were so excited."

"Heh, really?" Awkward…

"Yes really! You should be too! I'm sure you already know the laws of the birds and the bees outside. Now that you're all done with your business you should have time to think about your family. Also to think about you wife too!"

Tsuna blinked. Then guilt struck him hard in the gut. His father basically nailed him on the head, he was dead on. After all that business, he hasn't been thinking about his wife's feelings at all. That whole time waiting for him. What was she thinking? She must've been lonely. She… She's probably wanting to have a baby in her arms… to hold and nurture like any other her age now. Tsuna looked down at his feet. She's been waiting so patiently…

"You fail at family matters, son!" Iemitsu smacked him. "A major F!"

"I haven't gotten an F in years, dad."

His father instantly smacked a paper marked with "F" to his forehead. "NOW YA DO!"

Tsuna sweat dropped again. Since when did his father become a grumpy old man? (since the gray hairs came out?) And well, he was drunk at the moment too…

Tsuna looked down at the big, bolded "F" in his hands. He hated to admit it, but his dad was right. He does fail at family matters. And it was the only thing that he was good at back then. How ironic.

"…Everyone, including me and your mom, was wanting you there." Iemitsu sipped at his wine. "You totally failed."

"About the Vongola Family Picture?" As much as Tsuna was reminded daily as it sits on his desk, he truly was touchy upon the subject.

His father nodded. "Yeah…And to think the only copy of that picture went to you."

Tsuna looked at his dad, his face puzzled and surprised. He didn't hear of this before.

"There's no other copy. Only yours. Nobody else has that (unbelievably rare and extremely special) moment but you…" Iemitsu put down his cup, and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Listen to me well, son, cause' I'll only say it once."

Tsuna nodded, also meeting his father's eyes. His face was as serious as ever.

"I don't have an idea what you did to make you disappear for how long, but I know that you care for your family. Seeing the way you act and respond, I can tell you can't say a thing about it, but I'm sure that whatever it was, you did it for them. You're that type of guy." Iemitsu smiled softly. "But since you can't tell them, they don't know a thing. You've got to show you them. Sure there a things to keep to yourself, and plus, you're a mafia boss. It's only natural you'd be caught up in roll of business, but now that you're back, show some care - not like a Vongola Boss who yearns to protect everyone, but like Sawada Tsunayoshi would, who would do everything for his family."

Tsuna hadn't blinked the whole time. It was the first time, the first time his father had spoken to him like a father would in years. It touched him deeply. "Yeah… you're right."

"Yeah?" His father snorted, picking back up his cup and pouring an overflowing amount of wine into it. "Heck, yeah! Your pops is always right, so ya better listen to him more." He let out a loud good-humored laugh, gulping down his cup now.

Tsuna face-palmed himself, sighing tiredly. "You could at least keep up the father-son moment."

"NAAA~AAAH. I'm saving it for your KIDS!" Iemitsu raised his hands. "Get me some grandkids soon, Tsuna! I can't wait any longer! Talk to your wife about it! And before you know it, everythings done in a flash! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

It was official. Sawada Iemitsu was now an old drunken coot.

-x-

Gokudera realized that the Tenth was walking towards the door, as the windows to the office clearly showed that he passing by. He also noted that he had an odd look on his face. And until there was a loud "THUD" on the door that he realize that the Tenth was completely out of it. He had stood up to rush to the door, but it had already opened, revealing a Vongola Boss with a big round red spot on his forehead.

"Juudaime?" Gokudera was clearly puzzled at the sight of him. "What happened?"

"My father…" Tsuna mumbled, practically dragging himself to his desk. "…is crazy…"

Gokudera knew how to handle things. He could clearly explain to you what to do, when to do, and how to do it. But he really wasn't one keen on relationships, especially father-son relationships. Thus, he didn't say a thing and gave his boss a reassured look.

It was when Tsuna was finally seated on his desk did he say something.

"Gokudera, answer me earnestly."

His right hand man blinked, then nodded.

"What do you think, my son being the next Vongola boss?" Tsuna looked to him, his eyes showing no answer at all.

Gokudera suddenly stood straight, rubbing the back of his neck. He really didn't know what to say.. "Err… I'm not really sure if I should be one to - wait, you have a son?"

Tsuna's eye brows raised and he turned away from the other, waving his hand desperately. "N-Never mind, Gokudera. Just forget I asked you -"

"I would think… he should be like you."

Tsuna opened his eyes and turned to look at him. Gokudera's face showed no hesitance at all, but an honest smile, acquainted with nodding. Then the Vongola Boss turned away again.

His eyes took another glimpse at the picture that sat quietly on the corner of his desk. Then he raised his hand to his face.

"Should he really?"

-x-

**Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't try to humor myself at the end. Tee Hee. But anyway, I always thought that sometime in Tsuna's life he's gonna have a talk with his pops about grandchildren and how he's growing old. It was a funny thought for me, but somehow I dunno how I screwed it at the ending, but I screwed it at the ending.**

**I'll also say that these chapters aren't really in a particular order. So, I'm jumping all over the place, doing whatever catches my attention. **

**And also, shame on me, I need to do my friggin homework. X_X **

**- DoJo**


	4. Henchmen

**Henchmen**

**-x-**

Tsuna had always wondered how Yamamoto ended up with subordinates. It was truly a wonder, and there was many of them too. They were all built with strong muscle tones and could run any distance for what you wanted. They were also very energetic, so very feisty and passionate. So Tsuna always wondered how Yamamoto recruited such men and so many of them too.

"Oh, haha." Yamamoto laughed heartily. "It's a long story."

"Really?" Tsuna chuckled. "Seems like no one has time nowadays."

Yamamoto paused and thought to himself, feeling somewhat guilty suddenly. "Ah, sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

The brunette shook his head. "It's alright. I'm not any better." He then elbowed his fellow. "So tell me. Where did you get all these guys anyway?"

Yamamoto blinked and looked out before them. The view was of all these tall men, with great powerful arms and legs being put to work, training in front of them. They were running, jumping, and all looking as if they were having the time of their lives. Of course, baseball was in that picture too.

"Heh, maybe you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Tsuna raised a brow. "I wouldn't know until you tell me."

"They are actually my baseball teams."

Tsuna looked at him blankly, then to the men, then back at him. "What?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm surprised too. But they are and sometimes we still play baseball for old times sake." Yamamoto nodded, his expression earnest as ever.

"So…" Tsuna scratched his head. "How did you get them… like this and you know.. Into the whole mafia business?"

Yamamoto thought to himself again, stroking his chin. "If I am correct, it all started when I joined the whole mafia with you guys, thinking it was a game. I sure was dense back then huh?"

-x-

**Flashback. **

"Good morning, everyone!" Yamamoto flashed his trademark happy-go-lucky smile to his fellow teammates as he walked across the field toward them. The baseball team had always noted of how he just seemed to get brighter, stronger, faster, and cleverer every passing day. It always threw them off too. Their practices were repeatedly boring and nothing seemed to improve, only more boredom and no passion. So they questioned why it was that Yamamoto Takeshi seemed to be getting by so well.

And thus they finally decided to ask the smiling baseball player.

One teammate, Satoshi, was up to ask first. "How do you do it, Takeshi?"

"Hmm?" Yamamoto set down his backpack and his sports bag on the bench. "Do what?"

Another piped in. "How is it that you can smile and be so happy?" Then another added. "You also seem to be getting better at everything lately too."

Satoshi nodded. "So what are you doing? How is it that you are doing all the same practices as us, and yet you seem to be five steps ahead of us? Are you taking special training?"

Yamamoto blinked. "Ah, not really. I guess I've just been doing more than I expected."

"How so?" Another teammate asked.

There was already the whole baseball group gathering around Yamamoto like kindergarteners gathering around the teacher for story time. They really wanted to know.

He put it quite bluntly though. "I've been playing a game with some friends of mine."

Satoshi looked at him in disbelief. "A game? With Dame-Tsuna?"

"How is that helping you when Tsuna is in it?"

"Is he taking rigorous training too, and just making himself look stupid in school while in the outside he's like an ultimate superhero that every bad guy wants to kill and he could totally pwn them any day?" Everyone looked at the person who said this and pushed him out of the huddled group.

Yamamoto grinned. "Maa maa. Calm down. It's just a game."

Satoshi frowned. "What kind of game?"

"Mafia." Too blunt.

All of them gasped in disbelief.

"Haha." Yamamoto reassured. " It's a game. I'm sure the baby and the others is just holding some new advanced toy guns and play weapons and that all the rest is just really good acting, like Tsuna and Gokudera, with all the fighting and talking. It's like they all cosplay with wacky hair colors and random accessories for no occasion, but I find it cool anyway. And plus, it's exciting since my friends are all in it too."

Satoshi could not register how this was all being put together in a puzzle. "So you're playing a game of mafia?"

Yamamoto nodded. "There's a lot of running and screaming (from Tsuna) and bombs (but I'm sure they were planned) and awesome sound and special affects that seem so real (like guns shots and fire). You always seem to be moving and thinking in the game. Like one time, I had to do training here in the baseball field with Dino-san, another friend in the mafia game, and he chased me around with this tank shooting spikes at me, telling me that if I don't dodge them, it would hurt. It felt so real; it was amazing and fun."

His teammates were all silent, and Yamamoto decided to continue.

"There's also this talking baby who holds this green gun and he was teaching me how to use a sword by letting me swing my baseball bat. And the special affect is so cool when I use my bat too. If I swing fast enough, it turns into a sword. After that, my swing speed went faster than I had ever expected to go." Yamamoto chuckled with delight. "It's really fun and everyone seems so high spirited and energized in the game. It's as if our lives depended on it!"

"So, this is what makes you … better?" Satoshi asked.

"Well, I think that may be the case. I noticed that my levels seem to be higher now that I joined in with them." Yamamoto answered, surprised that even he noticed such a thing.

…

"We should play the mafia game too!"

"Yeah! Yamamoto, show us what they do!"

"We could totally be awesome and dominate!"

There at that moment, everyone agreed that they wanted to play this mafia game that Yamamoto was talking about.

What followed after? History.

**End of Flashback**

-x-

"Ahh.. So that's what happened.." Tsuna began laughing.

Yamamoto scratched the back of his neck embarrassed. "Man, I was so dense back then."

Tsuna smiled. "Heh, but I'm glad that you were. I mean, you were the only one who actually made logical sense with me. Both you and I had no idea what was going on then."

"Now we do."

"Unfortunately."

There was some easy silence between them.

Tsuna then asked. "So if these were your teammates -"

"Some of them really." Yamamoto interrupted. "I finally broke to them that there was more to the whole mafia game when they wanted to continue. Most decided to stay to my surprise, even when I told them there was a chance they could… die. And I told the whole biggie to those who stayed."

"Then, who are the rest of these guys?"

"Them?" Yamamoto smiled. "They're my baseball teams and other kids from the other leagues."

Tsuna's eyes grew wide. "What?" His face clearly said, 'Don't tell me you're getting them involved with the whole mafia ordeal too.'

Yamamoto shook his head. "Some of them are from my older teams and they all know the whole fiasco and still wanted to stay. The younger ones who don't know a thing about the mafia are just here to have the same training that some of the best baseball players they heard of had."

"The best for sure." Tsuna agreed. Then a thought hit him and he looked at Yamamoto hard.

The other had noticed this and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Tsuna looked down at Yamamoto's subordinates, all having smiles and playing baseball for it was free time. "I probably should apologize huh?"

"For what?"

"You know, for making you have to give up your dream… of being a baseball player. You loved baseball. You would have been an awesome player and played in international levels. But I asked you to be my Guardian."

"I believe that what I am now is better than what I wanted to be though." Yamamoto replied quickly, with no hesitance in his tone at all. "I find it much more fulfilling. Now that I look at it, sure, baseball was my passion, but I think being your Guardian suits me more." He grinned now. "It's more fun… and that I get to hang out and fight along side my friends any time any day."

"But still -"

"It was my choice, Tsuna. I could've declined, but all this time I didn't. I wanted to be a international league baseball player, playing against the strongest of my time and in the fields where the most famous players played." He then closed his eyes. " But I preferred what you had to offer. I aspired to become your Guardian instead. I chose to be your Guardian because I wanted to be. And lookie here, I'm having the time of my life, probably better than what I would've been, should I had chosen being a baseball player."

There was another pause, until Tsuna felt a hand ruffle his hair roughly.

"There's no need to apologize, so no 'apology accepted', but will you accept a thank you instead?"

Tsuna smiled, feeling the hand lift off his head. The feeling was weird, as he hadn't had anyone ruffle his hair in a while. "Yeah, thank you also, Yamamoto."

Suddenly, a loud exasperated sigh escaped Yamamoto's lips, being followed with a frown. "It's been a little over ten years now, Tsuna. The formalities can stop."

"It would be too rude and awkward and I wouldn't dare to live like that."

"It would be nice if you could just stretch out your legs and relax, making the world yours for once."

"Sadly, I'll have to refrain from that."

Yamamoto smiled. "You haven't changed a bit."

Tsuna smiled also. "Likewise."

That's when they realized that Yamamoto's subordinates were all watching the them and that all movements had stopped long before. They all had that dreamy look in their eyes and seemed to be moved emotionally.

"Err, how long have they been watching us?" Tsuna whispered. Yamamoto shrugged, also quite surprised.

Satoshi stepped out of the crowd, now bright and with a big smile. Him leading the group, they all suddenly yelled, "WE ARE YAMAMOTO'S HENCHMEN, AND THANKS TO VONGOLA TENTH AND BOSS, WE ARE ALL HAVING AN AWESOME TIME!" A long "" followed after.

"Henchmen?" Tsuna repeated. "Isn't supposed to be subordinates?"

"Yeah, I really didn't get the difference between the two, so we just went along with henchmen." Yamamoto sweat dropped.

"It makes you sound like one of those bad guys in movies with your two pathetic henchmen trying to take down the good guy." Tsuna mused.

"Yeah, it really does doesn't it?"

"But this time, it's a thousand men."

-x-

**This has got to be one of my favorite chapters. **


	5. Still

**Still**

**-x-  
**

Tsuna was never comfortable around Hibari. That was a proven fact. He'd somehow end up shuddering and screaming and running away from his Cloud Guardian, even until now; Tsuna's seventeen and it never seems to get old. Sure, he was older, faster, stronger, smarter (he's still getting there), and less clumsy, yet there was still no change from the distance between the herbivore and the carnivore.

But circumstances somehow called upon the right moments. And Tsuna was always at his best at such moments.

-x-

Tsuna clenched his fists tightly. Why of all times, they come here now?

Clearly, he was surrounded by at least 50 men, all armored and ready for one objective: exterminate Vongola Decimo.

Of course, it was all rather stupid, considering the fact that they had practically sent the threat to him days, no weeks ahead. So he was always ready for a fight to begin, at least, NOT on this day.

Of course it had to be the day that he'd be after school. Of course it had to be IN school. Of course, there would be Hibari Kyouya somewhere. And of course, he'd be angry with a messed up mass of rubbish which was known as "Namimori High School".

They charged.

-x-

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tsuna sighed. It was surely a long day. He was impressed that the school was still standing on walls, the floors still intact. He pushed back a desk in line with the others and frowned. He wondered if his mom was still waiting for him at home, dinner already finished. As it was, the sun was hitting the horizon; it was late.

The enemy had retreated, just ever so suddenly as Tsuna was about to knock one of them unconscious. They had disappeared into air (… not really). They jumped back and escaped from the beat down of the young Vongola Boss.

And as Tsuna left the doors of the school, ready to leave the premises,

He found that he had a little help from someone.

No wonder _he_ never appeared during the rumble.

-x-

Tsuna blinked.

He had never came across a sleeping Hibari before, especially not on his bed. It was mysterious and odd, completely out of place. It was also hard to dismiss the fact that his hands shook in terror as they held on to the prefect's arm, careful not to awake the sleeping mystery as he wrapped the long bandage around his arm.

As stupid and weird and as twisted as it may sound, he didn't want to admit that Hibari looked so peacefully beautiful in his sleeping form. Sure, a devil that has no mercy in his bones when he's awake, but asleep, you could expect for him to be the angel with open arms…

Tsuna frowned. No, the brunette couldn't accept an imagery of that, so he cuts it down a notch and says that he is just a protective grizzly bear that growls and claws, with a reason to care enough to do so.

Abruptly, Tsuna paused.

He had never really seen Hibari so still before either. The guy was always on the move, prowling his grounds and territory with a keen sight on everything. He was oddly busy, for beating up people due to their lack of discipline.

"Hibari is always on the move." Tsuna muffled quietly, continuing with his wrapping.

-x-

Hibari frowned in his mind. Had Hibird fallen into the bird bath again? His feather were oddly rough, too, against his cheek, and the movements from the bird were queer. Until a singe of pain jolted throughout his body starting from his cheek that Hibari's eyes shot open, viewing the least likely person he would think to see first.

"Herbivore…" His voice didn't seethe or hiss, but it could pass for it. The look he received from the acknowledgement was different from what he knew though.

The caramel eyes, still full of passion and narrow due to maturity, looked at him. There was no hint of the fear Hibari had known and observed lightly of since the past two years. This was new for Hibari; it isn't the same as the conceited look that the illusionist would give him, but the feeling he received from that look stirred again.

He was interested.

"Good morning, Hibari-san." Tsuna said quietly. He was sitting beside the bed, withdrawing his cotton occupied fingers from the prefect's cheek. "Sorry for waking you up. I had to…" The brunette started gesturing at his own cheek, trying to let him understand that there was a cut that had opened on the other's cheek and he was trying to clean it with alcohol. Unfortunately, the other didn't understand due to the gestures suddenly turning so farfetched.

"Where am I?"

"In my room." Tsuna answered easily, turning around in his chair to throw the alcohol soaked cotton into the waste basket. He then turned toward his desk beside him covered with papers and books, obviously studying.

Hibari stared at the other, face as impassive as ever, but clearly wanting to know why exactly was he in his home.

"There was that fight yesterday." Tsuna began. "You still were on your feet, but you really weren't there. As out of character as it may sound, you fainted."

Hibari slowly sat up in the bed.

"I would've taken you home, but the problem is I don't know where your house is."

The prefect could see the logic in that of not bringing him to his own house, but he still couldn't understand why he decided his home.

Tsuna rubbed his nose. "I thought that it would be enough to just leave you at school, but … I couldn't do that. I knew you needed some sort of treatment and warmth. The school gets cold at night and you had some cuts and bruises…" Tsuna placed his legs on his chair, sitting Indian-style. "I guess I was worried for your well-being, Hibari-san."

No response.

"And Hibari says thank you." Tsuna chuckled. "You're welcome."

Glare.

"Err…"

"What time is it?" Hibari asked, pushing away the covers.

Tsuna stood up, pushing down Hibari's shoulder. As Hibari reacted to the pain, he answered, "It's time for you to stay still and rest."

"Do you really expect me to stay?" Hibari growled.

"Yes. Yes, I do." Tsuna lifted his hand from the shoulder, now pulling the blanket over Hibari again. "You don't have to sleep. But at least let your body rest."

Hibari glared at him again.

-x-

Hibari was still sour at how he was being treated. Somehow the atmosphere between the herbivore and him changed… immensely. It was rather bothersome, this new air, but he wanted to know why. Why the herbivore's air suddenly became intriguing.

Tsuna frowned. "Hibari, do you know what this means?" Tsuna showed the other the heavily thick book, full of math equations of multiple sorts, and pointed to one that Hibari knew had a long process.

"I thought you told me to rest."

"I did."

"Does bothering me with math questions also count as me resting?"

"You're in my home remember?"

Also, Hibari wanted to smack the life out of the one before him. This defiance has gone a little too far now.

Tsuna set down the book on his desk and turned to Hibari. "I'm sure you'd want to be leaving sometime soon. But before I let you go, I have something to say to you."

Hibari wasn't interested, but decided to listen anyway.

"For once, stay still." Tsuna said quietly. "It would be good for you."

"Still?"

"Still. Not moving."

Hibari frowned. "And what do you mean by that?"

"When you were asleep," Tsuna stated. "You were so still."

"You were watching me sleep?" Hibari accused.

"Not watching. Observing." Tsuna answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "You're face was very peaceful. Somehow, it made me jealous."

Now Hibari was utterly confused in his mind. Jealous?

"I never have noticed before, but you are always on the move, Hibari-san. You always seem so busy. I thought you only beat up people for a living, but I never really thought of it as anymore than that." Tsuna repeated. "Hibari-san is always on the move. So I want you to be still, even for a moment."

"And what good would that do for me."

Tsuna answered bluntly, almost to sound stupid. "I really don't know."

Glare.

"B-But! I do know… that it would do you some good. Maybe sometime down the road, my intuition may be right. I feel that… it would be best."

"…"

"…."

"…"

"Well, Hibari-san. You can leave anytime you want now." Tsuna nodded. "I already said what I wanted to say."

It was after a whole hour since that last statement that Hibari finally leaved. Neither didn't know why he decided to stay a whole, complete extra hour after, but the conversation was never spoken of again.

Tsuna chuckled. "Heh. I'm surprised you took my advise, Hibari-san."

Hibari frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

About eight years later was the conversation spoken about again.

-x-

**Heh. Heh heh heh. ._. Yeaaaa~aah. The world is going round and I'm flying off into space. **

**This was also the missing chapter from earlier. I knew I had messed up somehow with fixing TTS. Thanks, reddoggie! :D  
**

**- Do Jo**


	6. Request

**Request**

**-x-**

All Tsuna wanted to know is that his family could smile. He treasured each of their smiles, hoping they are filled with happiness. He wanted to see them smile, all the time. It was another goal of his... to make sure they are happy.

But his attention turned to Chrome. She smiled, but there's something about it that lied.

-x-

"Chrome," Tsuna said. "Thank you for accompanying me on the trip. I couldn't have gotten through with it without your help."

They were sitting at a table outside the Café. It was peaceful, here in Italy again. It was decided between the two that they should take a break from their job and rest a little.

The woman's eyes grew soft and she smiled, bowing slightly. "I'm glad to be of service, Boss. Truthfully, I didn't think you would ask me to accompany you though. I was worried that I might make a mistake." She fiddled with her hands uneasily, wrapping them around her small white cup of tea.

"Not at all. You did well." Tsuna assured. "And I also just wanted to spend some time with you… You're busy yourself correct?"

"Ah, not really." Chrome shook her head. "I'm just sharpening my skills to not be a hindrance. This trip allowed me to know where I'm at. I still have many things to learn."

"You work hard, Chrome. You can take a break once in a while." Tsuna smiled. "You were wonderful today."

"Thank you." Chrome smiled as well, sipping her tea.

"But there's another reason why I wanted you to come." Tsuna muttered softly.

"Eh?"

He looked at her. "Something is troubling you, correct? Every time you step into my office -"

"Ah, no." She shook her head. "It's not that I'm troubled…" She looked at him, waiting for him to say something, but all he did was shift his position in his chair, still waiting for her to continue. "I'm sorry… it's just … that picture…"

Vongola Family Picture.

Tsuna paused his focus for a moment. Now that he thinks about it, he realized that there was a part of the picture he kept missing. Everyone was in that picture, Gokudera told him the day that he gave it to him, which does include Mukuro and his group. And as he remembers the picture as a whole - near the corner of it, Mukuro and Chrome, along with Chikusa and Ken - were there.

Mukuro. The name surely still sent shivers down his back, but not much on fear anymore. Tsuna was scared, not for himself, but for Mukuro.

"The picture sits there on your desk." Chrome said quietly. "You always have it there, Boss."

He chuckled. "I want to have it in a place I could always see it, and know that it's always there. It's special, as it is the only one of its own."

There was a time of silence, until Chrome suddenly spoke.

"It was the last time…"

Tsuna looked at her again and saw that her face flushed.

"It was the last time.." She repeated unsurely. "The last time we saw Mukuro-sama." She let go of her cup from falling from her hands as they were shaking uncontrollably… until a large warm hand reached out and held it tightly.

Tsuna was already off his seat, on her side of the table, holding her hands with his own. He studied her appearance intently. Her expression was neither sad nor depressed. But it surely wasn't happiness. She was obviously discontent.

"I-I'm sorry." She mumbled, clasping her hands together tightly.

"If you would, tell me." Tsuna urged. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Boss…" She shook her head. "I don't want to trouble you."

"What troubles me is that you're not content. My Family is more important than my duties." Tsuna looked at their hands and shook them gently. "If there's something troubling you, then it bothers me just as well."

"…"

"I want to do what I can for you, Chrome." He insisted. "If there's anything you are willing to say to me, then please do so."

She took a while to respond, as her trembling hands were held tightly by her superior. The feeling was nostalgic to her - Like Mukuro's kindness, it came back again.

"The day we took that picture… Mukuro disappeared. We never saw him again…" Chrome explained, feeling her muscles loosen. "He was very upset that day, but he wouldn't tell us why. He said he would take the picture though when he was asked. But that day, he vanished…" She paused for a moment. "… A month later, we learned he was sent to Vendicare."

Tsuna felt a small twinge in his chest.

"We don't know why he was sent back." Chrome lowered her head. "So that picture… I want to look at it… and still believe he's still smiling now. That he's not in pain. But he was so distressed that day. I didn't know what to do… and it still…"

"I see…"

She looked up at him and saw that his face wasn't filled with pity, but the will to help. She pleaded, "I feel horrible for asking you of such a selfish thing… but, may I ask you my request, Boss?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Is it possible…. For me to see Mukuro-sama again?" Chrome asked gently, her feelings earnest. "I want to see him again. To last see him smile. That way, I can think that he's smiling… up until now."

Tsuna looked at their hands, closing his eyes. He knew she was going to ask such a thing. "I would want you to see him smile. But for him to be released out of Vendicare is out of my own power. Their system is out of my control… Asking for him to be released is impossible." Now with open eyes, he looked at Chrome who knew that his reply was true and disheartening. "I want to do something… Though it seems impossible, Chrome, it doesn't mean there is nothing I can do about it."

"Boss…"

"I can't make a promise that it will be soon, but I do promise that one day, I will fulfill your request."

-x-

**I had a super long author's note here before. I don't see the need of having it anymore. My thoughts should be conveyed through the story. If not, I fail to deliver. But suddenly, this chapter makes me want to write about a bloody mean Tsuna in contrast of this heartfelt Tsuna. Probably I'm just on the brink of insanity.**


	7. For Tsuna

**For Tsuna**

**-x-**

It was in Tsuna's office that all of them stared at the picture. It was a simple picture. All of them crammed together in it except one. And it wasn't that very formal either.

Haru sighed. "Egh, I can't believe we're dropping our cakes. And we worked so hard to make sure they looked nice in the picture." Kyoko nodded, also disdained by the fact.

Lambo turned his nose up. "I look really weird in this picture. What were we fussing about anyway, I-pin?" I-pin looked at him and replied, "I don't remember…"

Bianchi and Fuuta got their chance to take hold of the picture as well. Fuuta laughed, "Giannini, your face is so shiny here." Giannini grasped the corner of the black frame gingerly and grinned, "Too shiny. Haha."

There was another group in the same room, standing in the center of the room.

Gokudera sighed, rubbing his temples, "The picture should've been much more organized. It isn't the kind of picture I planned."

Yamamoto, as he would usually, unintentionally do, contradicted his thought. "I don't think so. I'm sure Tsuna would be just as happy with this. And plus, it gives you that more normal, everyday feel."

"We should've taken another one though." Gokudera responded briskly. "But Hibari, Kusakabe, and that illusionist with his posse flaked out on us once the camera flashed. And I didn't want Varia here in the first place…"

"And we can't really take another…" Dino added. "Other people in this picture left early too… Everyone is supposed to be in it." Of course, he and his family were included in this picture too.

Chrome nodded. "That's the only one with everyone." She decided to stay behind to meet up with the Tenth for Mukuro.

Dino concluded. "And it would probably be the last. It's the only evidence we have of everyone being gathered."

"Which makes it special and important." Shoichi smiled. "Enough to be make any mafia boss happy." Spanner also added his thoughts "Vongola would be happy with such a simple thing like this."

Yamamoto laughed. "It's amazing though, that for Tsuna, we could all be gathered for a reason. I didn't think it was possible for us to be all gathered like this. I was even surprised that Hibari came when I told him the reason."

Dino looked at the group who were commenting happily on the picture. "It's Tsuna." Now he smiled. "He is quite full of charisma and, as the Vongola boss, of course his family should love him."

At this everyone was silenced. Not awkward silence, but was a very comfortable, mutual silence that enveloped the group.

Suddenly the doors slammed open, revealing a fiery Ryohei and an out-of-breath Lal Mirch.

Ryohei proclaimed. "He's COMING! He's HERE!"

Lal smacked him in the back of his head. "Shh. You don't want him to hear us do you?" Then looking at the crowd gathered in the room. "We gotta get out of here if we're going to make the picture a surprise."

Gokudera nodded. "Yeah, we told him to meet us at the Vongola Garden for his welcoming party."

"BUT HE'S COMING HERE!" Ryohei knew it from what exactly came out of Tsuna's mouth while talking to Basil. "WE NEED TO MOVE!"

Kyoko raised up the picture, her voice raised. "But the picture! We should write somewhere that it's for him."

Haru was already holding a black marker. "ACK! I forgot that the frame is already black. We won't see it!"

Both were flustered on what to do, as well as any other in the room.

"We gotta get out! Before the Tenth comes!"

"But the picture has to have a 'For Tsuna' on it somewhere."

"Can't he just figure it out himself?"

While the fuss and chaos continued on in the room, Ryohei quickly made his way toward the picture and took into his own hands. Then he flashed out his sharp-tip pen and…

"Hey, Ryohei-san, what are you doing?" Dino asked, now noticing.

Scrt. Scrt. Crack. Scrt.

"AAAAAHHHHH, LAWN HEAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Gokudera screamed.

Scrt scrt scrt scrt [now much faster].

"Nii-san, don't do that!" Kyoko reached for the picture. "It's going to break!." She tried swiping it away, but her brother immediately moved away from her.

Sch sch sch sch. Crack. Scrt scrt.

"I don't think he's messing up the picture." Yamamoto said calmly. "He's just -"

"I'M DOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEE!" Ryohei abruptly paused and gently laid it on Tsuna's desk. Then turning around to face the queer silence, he raised his voice once again. "LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO!" With this, he grabbed everyone in one scoop (how is that possible?) and dashed out with everyone out the room.

(Just a thought from some random author of this random story. He proves that Anime and Manga can break the laws of Physics.)

-x-

"Hey, Basil. I'm going to go into my office." Tsuna informed. "Please go ahead to the Garden, I'll meet up with everyone there."

Basil nodded with a smile. "Alright, Sawada-dono. Everyone is very excited to see you."

Now holding the door knob, he replied, "Haha, yes. So am I." He turned the knob and entered his office, a smile gracing his face. It was odd to him that everything is exactly the same way he left it. Same desk arrangement. The same plants and decors in the right places. Perhaps the paperwork is still the same too (of course this didn't make him too happy, but was an amusing thought).

He began walking toward his desk and noticed that something was sitting on top. His eyes lit up with interest and he picked up his pace. Once in front of his desk, he reached out for 'that something' to find his hand stop in the air before touching it.

His eyes clearly processed the information fast enough to his brain.

It was a picture. With everyone in it. Even Hibari. Even Mukuro, Chrome, Chikusa, and Ken. Even Dino and his family. Even the Varia. Even Giannini, Shoichi, and Spanner. And Lal Mirch, his parents…

He hadn't realized that he had grasped it in his hands so tightly, right before his face. And before he knew it, he was smiling gently.

"This is… amazing." Tsuna found his mind racing now. "So wonderful." He began gracing his fingers over the black frame.

Unexpectedly, his hands felt something rigid on the upper edge of the frame. Something was engraved in it, and fresh too. He turned it a little ways here and there, until the light reflected in a certain angle to unmask the etched in words.

'For Tsuna'

For Tsuna… For Tsuna… It rang throughout his mind again and again as he read it over and over.

"Such a wonderful moment…" Tsuna breathed. "Is mine…"

It was his. His picture. For Tsuna.

_For me. _He thought.

"You do this for me… I am so thankful… All of you do this for me…" He brought the picture to his face softly and said,

"I must do what I need to do…" Tsuna held the picture tightly. "I'm doing it… for all of you."

_But it is best._

_Thank you so much._

_And…_

_I'm sorry._

_-x-_

**Got the idea from reading the first chapter again and wondering why "For Tsuna" was etched in in the first place… Thanks, Ryohei, for your wonderful improv skills!**

**- Do Jo**


	8. Dismissed

**Dismissed**

**-x-**

"Lambo, you really shouldn't have done that…" I-pin scolded. "Didn't Tsuna-san already told you not to anger the Principal anymore?"

"Yare-Yare…" Lambo scratched the back of his head, opening one eye. "It doesn't really matter now does it?"

I-pin smacked him on the back of his head. "But Tsuna-san is in there backing you up!"

They were sitting quietly on a bench outside the school doors. Both waiting apprehensively for Fuuta to pick them up, and both very curious at how their dear Vongola boss was coping with their greatly feared Principal. They wondered who would die first, or at least how long it would take for any part of the school to blow up.

Oh, yes. Tsuna wasn't in such a delightful stand right now. He just wanted to visit the Namimori principal and have a good humored chat with the guy (Ahhh, such wishful thinking…), but apparently, things also got caught up in the business. Vongola boss sees his youngest Guardian fussing with one of his eldest Guardians, who also happens to be the Namimori Principal, also known as Hibari Kyouya, infamous for his "I shall bite you to death." And none other than the Disciplinary Committee President (still?). Though, Tsuna somehow thought that the role of a police officer would fit his status too.

And now, Tsuna stands before his most feared guardian, lightening the death sentence Hibari was planning to lash out at the now 14 year old, Lambo.

"C'mon, Hibari-san," Tsuna prodded. "Lambo's just fourteen. He's bound to do reckless things."

Hibari still stared at him, his expression as impassive as ever. It clearly didn't look like there would be any chance to convince the guy to change his mind, even convince him of the thought that he may change his mind. And he surely wasn't either.

"Consider us when we were his age. We wrecked the school, too, from all the fighting we had done here." A look from Hibari made him coil. "And… you weren't so happy about that either… I know…"

Tsuna dropped his brows, and sat down on a chair before Hibari's desk, already seeing that this is going to take a long time. "Okay, Lambo tried to blow up the school… Again. And truly, he doesn't have the permission or right to do so -"

"It's violation of the school district as well as the government." Hibari hissed out coldly. "He should be reprimanded and punished. And personally, no matter how much I would like to kill the little brat, this is the lightest sentence I can give him, herbivore, unless you want him in prison."

Tsuna slunk back on his chair, stroking his chin in thought. "Geh, so cleaning toilets just wasn't enough…"

"Of course not." Hibari turned to his papers and continued sorting. "Also to add the fact that three years ago you _encouraged _him to do so…" He practically stabbed Tsuna on the back, guilt flowing all the way through it, by making the emphasis.

"Heh… once again, it was all out of curiosity…" Tsuna dared to reply.

"And as they say, curiosity kills the cat."

Tsuna frowned. …How can he win? Sure, he's won against him physically and yes, that was a blow to Hibari's ego (not to mention a major plus to his own confidence), but because of that, fortified walls stand against him now, and Tsuna can't beat him in any other way. That was his downfall and Hibari was just somehow one step higher, trying to figure him out and beat him to the chase. And there was no openings here or there to be seen… at all.

"You're the school principal…" Tsuna groaned jokingly. "You can do whatee~ver you like…" Hibari paused for a moment, just to stare at him, then continued with his work.

Tsuna raised a finger. "But -"

"There's no way you can change my mind, Sawada…" Hibari instantly said, not looking up from his documents, knowing he has won again. "My choice is final, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Geh…"

More silence went about, the ticking of the clock on the wall… And the flapping of wings.

Tsuna looked up from his pen that he was twirling on his finger to see the mighty little Hibird land on Hibari's desk, no fear in its eyes and actions. It was a wonder to all how such a fragile little things could get away with their desires. Tsuna always knew ever since Hibird's debut with Hibari that the feared, big man had a thing for cute cuddly animals. Hibari was basically like any animals' friend. Truly, it was ironic to an extent. Big scary feared guy… Little cute and cuddly animal. But then it just showed that Hibari cared.. (for animals at least… it has yet to be proven whether Hibari has ever acknowledged humans). Of course, no one would admit it.

And that's when a thought hit him.

"Heh…" Tsuna began grinning to himself. He turned his eyes toward Hibari who was busy stroking Hibird's yellow feathers. "I just realized… What a strange, strange thought…"

Hibari continued to ignore the man before him, who was making a fool of himself. If he wanted, he could wipe out that smug grin off the other's face, but decided not. It would be a waste of energy and time, but even him just being there was eating away his time.

"Mind answering a question Hibari-san?" Tsuna stood up from his chair, the nice suave grin made on his face. Once he saw Hibari's eyes lift to his own, he continued. "It was just a wandering thought…" And he leaned down on the desk, propping himself up with his arms. Seeing that the Vongola Boss was now in close proximity to his own personal bubble, not to mention him already occupying much of the space above his desk, Hibari decided to speak, a smug and suave grin reflecting on his face the same though maliciously. And at this time, Hibird became wise and flew away from Hibari's finger, perching himself on a nearby plant.

"I'll keep this between you and me," Tsuna said, "Because truly, it only involves you and me, nobody else…That is, if I have your permission to speak first…?"

Hibari's eyes flickered, not with interest nor with curiosity, but something about the other's tone made him sense a shiver coming from his spine. "You're out of character, herbivore."

Tsuna chuckled, his eyes still the same. "Oh really? Haha, and you aren't?" It was true; Tsuna expected the prefect to instantly bash him to the walls.

Hibari raised a brow. "Alright, then. Continue."

"My curiosity ails me much so, and thanks to Hibird I can say that he has proven an… odd fact… to me." Tsuna smiled.

"…And?" Hibari pushed.

"Sure, you still call me a herbivore, and I somewhat do agree…" He trailed, sensing that the prefect wants him to just get to the point already.

"Herbivore…" Hibari was getting pissed off at the stalling.

Tsuna then leaned back, standing straight on his two feet and shrugging. A confident smile pulled at his lips and he finally spoke.

"Since when did I gain your respect, Hibari-san?"

Hibird flew to Tsuna now, landing delicately on his shoulder and cuddling behind his ear.

Hibari glared at him now.

Tsuna lifted a finger to the little yellow fluff and chuckled, seeing that as much as he stared at the prefect, he obviously will not be getting an answer from his Cloud Guardian. Hibird fluffed out and spread out his wings, then retracted them to its body. The small black beads also looked straight at Hibari, as if expecting an answer as well. Hibari drew his brows together. As easy as that, without even saying a word, he knew that the man before him got his answer as a smirk rose to his face. And he frowned deeply.

Standing up, Hibari pointed to the door and said demandingly, "Dismissed…"

-x-

The next day and even the following days, Lambo wasn't showered with the perils of hell. Actually, he was let off… as if nothing happened. And he surely was wondering, all day throughout school, to the extent where he would just be whisked away to 'I'm thinking way too hard' Land and not paying attention to anything (even food!). He didn't even see the Principal around, and the Disciplinary Committee was oddly quiet too.

"Fuuta, I'm telling you…" Lambo explained one day as he and Fuuta were walking toward the car. It was after school, and Lambo was absolutely bewildered.

Fuuta himself was surprised about Lambo's "enthusiasm". Lambo always seemed bored after school, so this apprehensive attitude made him at the very least interested. "I've never seen you so excited about school, Lambo."

"No, the exact opposite, Fuuta." Lambo frowned. "Ever since Tsuna went to go visit that monster -" Lambo excused the look on Fuuta's face that told him to watch how he called people, "Ever since that day, I haven't been "bitten to death"." He frowned even more at the quote, which inwardly made him shiver. "I should've been 'bitten to death' even BEFORE I reached home!"

Fuuta blinked. "Ah…"

Lambo looked at him. "Hmm?"

Fuuta looked down now, his blood running cold. "Ahh… I see…"

"What?"

The older scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "So that's what happened…"

Lambo growled. "What? What is it?" He was no attention seeker (well, not as much as before…), but he clearly didn't like being ignored.

"Umm… Well, I think I may know now why Hibari-san let you off so easily…" Fuuta replied, his voice trailing off.

"And?" Lambo prompted him to continue.

Fuuta didn't really know how to put it to words, trying to find a way to explain what exactly happened in a very less violent way. "Err… Let's just say that someone had made Hibari-san forget he was angry at you since that person made him even angrier…"

"Hunh?" Lambo scrunched his brows. "How in the world can you make our murderous Principal even angrier? I thought blowing up his school was the full extent of it?" He totally had forgotten to consider WHO can make the homicidal principal even angrier.

And well, the image rolled over Fuuta's mind. It was only vaguely explained to him what had happened between Tsuna and Hibari and AFTER their meeting (as they were only few who actually saw the whole hell on earth), but that was probably all he could have been able to handle (taking into the account that the ones who told him, which were Ryohei and Yamamoto, were rather shaken themselves). He knew those two could go to a much farther extent on fatal levels that should never be shown nor explained about to the public (anybody really…) and he knew where the boundary line stopped.

He shuddered even at the thought at who was left standing… that is, if either one of them survived…

-x-

**Why is it that I always make Tsuna the one who gets caught up in all the trouble? (Somehow I'm considering that to be a rhetorical question.) **

**Just a part of a little insight of how I view Hibari's relationship with Tsuna. How you perceive that is very well up to you. :D**


	9. Dissatisfied?

**Dissatisfied?**

**-x-**

Mukuro felt a vibe. A strong vibe. A vibe that he hadn't felt for a long time. One that actually sent excitement through his veins. The kind… That kind… that had reasoning. Very strong. Very willing. Very desirable. And it clearly called out to him. Mukuro wanted to see who brought such a presence in such a cold, dark, and isolated room. The same kind of vibe that disappeared. The vibe that he knew no one could equally match. This unbelievable vibe… it brought a disappointing feeling of hope that he hadn't felt for a while.

He heard muffled voices through the water and glass. Their voices weren't clear, he couldn't understand what they were saying. But the tones were significant. One was a defiant and denying tone, one that he knew stays within this room to watch and observe him. The other… he can't recall ever hearing such a tone.

'_It possibly can't be…' _Mukuro thought_. 'I surely will be disappointed with this feeling of hope. Heh… I must be despe-'_ His train of thoughts paused as he suddenly felt the chains and his restraints buckle and loosen.

He felt the water waver, as if draining away. The chains and sockets of the restraints disconnected, making the tightened confinement suddenly loosen. Once the water reached below his waist, the chains gave way, making him fall helplessly into the water.

Mukuro still couldn't see a thing, as the restraint around his eyes completely covered his sight. He also couldn't fathom the event right now. Were they letting him go? After how many years… why now?

"You guys should be more gentle with him…" The voice shocked him… literally sending static down his spine and arms, making all his muscles tense. This voice too… was fanciful. Mukuro guessed that the encasement around him was beginning to lift away as he felt cold air clash against his wet skin.

'_Perhaps I am going insane…' _Mukuro smirked at himself. '_This restless hope is now flaming, but it must be a dream right?' _He felt his feet touch the cold platform, and as the last chains released, he dropped hard on his knees.

"Didn't I say to be more careful with him?" It was that voice again, more aggressive this time, that sent shivers down Mukuro's spine. "If he is harmed, I promise I won't ignore it…He is my guardian after all…"

Mukuro laughed inwardly at his insanity. _'I seriously must be going insane. "My Guardian" that voice says. All these signs must be in a dream; I must be desperate. Sawada Tsunayoshi is not here…' _He suddenly gasped.

Such warmth grazed his cheeks, grabbing for the restraint over his eyes. The restraint released its air and locked off, slowly being removed from his face. Mukuro shut his eyes tightly, the light in such a dark room was already bright.

"He won't be able to see for a while…" One of the scientists informed. "His vision will be blurred."

Mukuro opened his eyes slowly, just to shut them again. He couldn't see at all. Nor could he move at all. He knew arms supported him, and that these arms surely have been alive and warm compared to his cold, practically dead body.

"You may take him to the prepared room you asked for. He will lead the way."

Mukuro felt himself being hoisted onto someone's back… the back of the same person who supported him. And he felt them begin to walk out of the cold room, to find light getting brighter as they walked.

"Who… are you…?" Mukuro managed to say, surprised that his normally suave voice was croaky and cracked.

The only answer was the steps echoing in the hall they were walking in.

"You do know… that if I had my strength… I wouldn't allow you to carry me like this…"

"You do know… that even with your strength, I couldn't just leave you like that, right?" There was a soft chuckle, which surprised the blind Mukuro.

So much.. He wanted to see this person. It was such futile hope that he had to see a certain someone, but even if it wasn't that, he would want to know what this person was, to have the same vibe as _him_.

The sound of a door sliding was heard. "This will be your room. Please do not make too much noise. 69's clothes have already been provided inside the room."

"Thank you." They entered the room, leaving the attendant outside. The door closed behind them.

Mukuro felt a towel being wrapped around his back and was gently set down on a bed, just to fall over to his side. He scowled, feeling that the other in the room sensed his weakness. "Who are you?" He demanded, his voice now clearer.

"Perhaps you wouldn't want to know…" The voice paused for a moment. "Someone who wanted to see you."

"Hah, who would want to see me?"

"Apparently I do. And perhaps some other people too."

"Who are you?" Mukuro asked again, more aggressively.

"Didn't I already answer that?

Suddenly, Mukuro's hand shot out from under the towel, grasping the other's arm tightly. "You… how is it… that you have the same light as him?"

"Him?" The gentle voice asked. " And who may that be?"

"…Sawada Tsunayoshi…"

There was another pause from the flow of the conversation as the other didn't say a thing.

Mukuro took a breath in and let go his grasp, sighing as he turned to his back since he regained some control of his body. "Ha~. What am I saying? Perhaps I'm being too optimistic. I must thank you for allowing me out of that ghastly place." He felt a hand cover his eyes, incredible warmth emanating off of it. It brought a sudden epiphany of eleven years ago, during his first fight with Sawada Tsunayoshi. He remembered those flames, filled with passionate heat. And here they were again.

"They put some toxin in your eyes." The other said. "I'm using dying will flames to purify them…"

_Purify…what a word. _Mukuro grinned. _Just as he purified me from darkness those years ago…_

The hand lifted from his face and Mukuro felt the heavy weight which was present before, that it had disappeared as if it was never there. It was easy to open his eyes. His sight was rejuvenated and clear as he made out the gray ceiling and part of the room which was barely lighted.

And instantly, he turned his eyes to this unknown and yet inviting person.

And it was exactly what he had imagined and hoped for… for over a year. All he could say was his name, "Sawada Tsunayoshi…" He hadn't realized that he was already lifting himself up to a sitting position, still frozen with shock.

Tsuna wasn't smiling, nor was he frowning, but his face was clearly dissatisfied, which even affected Mukuro to an extent. His face, his demeanor, and his clear presence. All of it. It made Mukuro angry. It was absolutely irritating. For more than a year, it ate him alive.

Tsuna suddenly felt a jerk on his blazer and met with piercing mismatched eyes. He clearly could see the pent up anger and all the memories and dissatisfaction and denial in them. It was enough, enough to make Tsuna look away.

"Why do you appear before me?"

Mukuro yelled, practically screaming.

"Why did you suddenly disappear?"

-x-

**Omo. Seems like being stuck in a water tank and floating about has really gotten into his head. Definitely would not be surprised if the water was actually sake (the wine) because it's not everyday where we meet an angry Mukuro. Or at least… not this angry.**


	10. Alone

**Alone**

**-x-**

Dino hummed himself a simple American Christmas tune he had heard earlier in the holidays. It was already past Christmas. And he knew…

It was surely a quiet Christmas in the Vongola household.

He went to visit. And everybody he knew was there. All except one. And just because that one person was there, though the happy holiday spirit was present with the arrays of color and food, it was obvious to everyone…

That the air was different with him missing.

And it truly frustrated Dino. So much, that as he was thinking about it now, the wooden pencil in his hand cracked. He set down the leftover of the now broken pencil and leaned back in his chair uneasily. He couldn't just sit still and wait for him to appear. For all he knew, the one he dubbed little brother could be DEAD. And knowing that he wasn't home, and that no one knew where he could possibly be; that alone bothered him.

Dino closed him eyes, shutting himself out the world he saw. He knew he was in his room, in a simple little house far from his mafia home, a place of solace, far from the city districts, in Italy. But with his eyes closed, now he could only think of the simplest thing.

When you lose something, it's normal to ask, "If I were whatever it was I lost, where would I be?"

And he knew, however strange it may sound, he couldn't help but ask. "If I were Tsuna, where would I be right now?" But that too, alone, was a hard answer. And if it were to be on a test, he would surely miss that question.

Truthfully, considering the Tsuna now, the one he knew that has grown and matured greatly, Dino wouldn't know what to expect anymore. Even setting eyes on him eleven years ago, when Tsuna had come from the past to save this world, he was already becoming amazing, perhaps even more than Dino would ever expect.

Though, it frustrates him more. The Tsuna that had changed the future and returned to the past must have changed the Tsuna who was already great at this time. But whoever stepped out of Irie Shoichi's device…

Dino never got to meet.

Nor did anyone else.

The blonde dropped his head back to his chair. He opened his eyes to the ceiling, hopeless he would get anywhere. After all, the simple little question had already failed him… ten times now. 'But he's bound to show up sometime…' Dino thought, then added. 'I surely hope so…If I were him, I'd think I'd come and stay here.' He chuckled at the meager thought, wondering what he would think if that actually were to happen. But he was pretty ashamed at his poor humor to himself. There was no way it could happen.

He turned around in his chair to face the window behind him, never expecting his eyes to meet with a mottled, muddy, shadowed face with ruffled and matted hair, the clothes being torn and shredded, black skin bare, a cut and bruised hand leaning against his window. Dino practically fell back in his chair in surprise, moving as far away as possible from the window, incredibly shocked at what monster could possibly be leaning away on his window. And in the cold?

"H-How did that find my house?" Dino mumbled out loud, still staring at the unusual, filthy sight. Of course, he knew that whoever it was outside couldn't see inside due to window tints on this certain window. Once the black hand fell from the window, Dino decided to stand up from his chair and take a closer look as to who stood outside his window.

Dino knew his house was only one floor, level with the ground it was built upon, which means, he realized, the person outside was around the same height as him, if not a little bit shorter. The person was close to the window, his warm white breath seen against the glass, puffing every other five seconds. Dino examined his clothing. The person barely had anything on his skin, enough to keep him warm in such a cold time. A hand rose to the window again, leaving a smudge of mud, while another, glowing with a brilliant red emerged from under his shirt, reaching for his face. Dino watched him rub his face with his hand slowly, to drop his hand decorated with scars, and raise his face to the tinted reflected window on his side.

And his face alone, it gave Dino shivers as he couldn't tear his eyes away from what he was seeing. He may not see Dino, but clearly, Dino saw him. Through all the scars, cuts and mud. Dino couldn't bear to turn away from the flaming orange eyes that burned brightly right back at him blindly. The eyes hardened a bit, a hand flying to grip his stomach, and with that, the man outside his window collapsed.

Dino quickly sped out of his house, thrashing through everything in his way, to go against the cold wind that tried to keep him away from his want. He winced at the cold, as his socks sunk through the icy snow. He practically slid as he turned around the corner of his house, seeing the limp body, lay beside the window he was just beyond. Dino took no time to look no more and grabbed for an arm, hoisting the body on his back. It surprised Dino, that compared to his own body, the other was practically as cold as ice and very light too, which frightened him so much that it caused him to get inside his house twice as fast as he did while going out.

'All that matters now,' Dino thought quickly, 'is getting his body warm.' He quickly sped down into his room, putting down the unconscious body on his little couch. He flew to his bathroom and turned the knob of the faucet all the way to hot. ' I need to get him warm… Quick!' He thought to himself.

-x-

Dino finally sat down on a chair next to the bed. He had finished buttoning his shirt on the other's body, who was now sleeping intently with a new set of clothes in Dino's bed. Dino was relieved to know that the body at least warmed up in the shower, after cleaning out all the dirt and letting him soak there for about an hour. He tended to the wounds all over his body, which was a considerable amount, and some quite severe too, but none life-threatening…

'Thank goodness too…' Dino thought, rubbing the back of his neck. 'All he needs to do now… is sleep.'

But Dino still couldn't keep his eyes away. He couldn't ever since he saw those eyes, and now it was just thrice as hard now that the face and body was clear of all the dirt.

Same chocolate hair, same eyes, same skin, same face. It just had to be him. It just had to be…

"Tsuna…" Dino breathed.

It was like gazing at a masterpiece, that was so eye-catching and keeps you staring at it with awe. It was like there was always something new to find out as you keep on looking, and that if you look away, you would miss something extraordinary. As of right now, Tsuna, laying there on his bed contently, was like that.

But the masterpiece was torn, ripped, shattered, and broken. All the scars, cuts, wounds that Dino saw never seemed to fade away from his memory. They were tended to now, but some of those wounds were obviously not recently. And perhaps, the older ones not well cared for either.

What has this masterpiece been through? Where had it went? Where would it go, to end up being like this?

"What happened, Tsuna?" Dino asked quietly, not expecting an answer. "Where did you go?"

"…..Everywhere." A quiet tone responded.

Dino looked up to Tsuna's face, seeing the eyes open slightly and a little smile form on his face. Tsuna turned his head to look at Dino, who's face was surprised.

"…..Good morning, Dino-san." A pause… "…That is… If you are Dino-sa-"

Instantly, a hand smacked down on Tsuna's mouth.

Dino cried. "AAAHHH! DON'T SAY ANYTHING!"

And from under his hand. "AGH! THAT HURTS!"

Dino quickly threw his hand away. "Eeeeii, sorry…"

Tsuna glared at his dubbed older brother over the rim of the blanket covering him, then his eyes turned soft and friendly, eyes that Dino hadn't met in a long while. "It's good to see you…who would've thought…. That the house I stumbled upon…."

"Would be mine…" Dino chuckled, rubbing his nose. "No one would've expected it…" He then smiled. "Earlier I told myself that if I were you, I'd come and stay here. Didn't think it would actually come true."

Tsuna took a while to respond, but his smile was evident. "You sure know me well then."

"Really now?" Dino nodded slowly… then gripped the edges of his chair. "Then if I knew you so well, I would have known where you have been for a year now…"

To this, Tsuna made no response at all. He just closed his eyes and muffled. "This bed sure is comfy."

"Don't try to change the subject on me, mister. I've got all day." Dino then patted his head. "Which means you should get some rest for now. You've got some explaining to do later. But for now, just rest."

Tsuna raised a brow at him.

"And don't think of escaping either." Dino added harshly, adding a pointing finger for emphasis. "By heaven you will feel the wrath of a might older brother ready to rampage the world with my iron fist looking for a tuna."

And now, a smile. "Will do, Dino-san. I won't go anywhere."

-x-

Tsuna stretched out his muscles from under the bed, feeling his elbows pop. His body felt wonderful now, and he knew he was fully rested. He sat up on the bed, the blankets falling to his side. The air was warm, but not as warm as it was under the covers, which he preferred more right now. He turned slowly, hoping not to re-open any wounds that Dino had fixed up for him and stared at the clock on the bed stand.

2:50 … in the morning. It said.

'It's late… really late.' Tsuna thought to himself bitterly, 'Probably late enough for me to sneak out without Dino-san's notice…' Yes, he said he would stay, and he really would like to also, but he knew he couldn't stay long. And Dino should be asleep by now, which he thought was a good chance. 'After all…' Tsuna thought to himself, slipping on the provided slippers and walking out of the room, 'A farewell would be too sad for me to see again.' He opened the door and found Dino sitting on a pillow on the floor next to the door reading a book.

"Eh, you're not asleep?" Tsuna asked, surprise in his tone. So much for that plan. He watched it flying out the nearby window.

"Does it look like I'm sleeping?" Dino asked smartly. He stood up, dropping the book from his hands into the pillow he was sitting upon. "I couldn't sleep. Someone was occupying the space in my bed. And that someone also made me worry he might run away…"

Tsuna grinned. "Heh, you don't say…Sorry about that."

Dino shook his head. "Neh, it's fine. All that matters is if you got fully rested."

The younger truthfully replied. "Perhaps the best rest I've gotten this whole year." Suddenly, his stomach grumbled loudly. "Ah…"

Dino flashed a grin. "Good thing I had a big dinner last night. Let's go eat." He added before starting to walk, "Do you need help walking?"

"I'll be fine, thanks."

Though, throughout their little journey, Dino was checking on Tsuna every other second, ready to dive if he were to fall, which he didn't. Tsuna saw, as they headed toward the kitchen, that a modern day table was already set up, ready to welcome any who eat upon it. And the seats, especially Tsuna's, was incredibly comfortably cushioned. Basically, pillows everywhere galore.

"Why is it that I get the feeling that I'm being treated like a glass vase traveling through hazardous areas?" Tsuna asked quite irritated, staring at his seat.

"Don't ask questions and sit down." Dino said, gently pushing him to a sitting position in his seat. "Today, I get to treat you. I'll get the food." The older brother quickly scurried into the kitchen and soon clinks and clanks were heard. "Ah, I'm okay." He said loud enough from the kitchen.

Tsuna chuckled to himself. It seemed that over the year, Dino still hadn't changed from his clumsy self if his men weren't around, even if it had improved a little bit. But another thought was brought up in Tsuna's mind after thinking such a thing. Where exactly were they? Why was Dino in a house in the middle of who knows where in apparently Italy? How far away were they from the city, from Dino's Cavallone Base?

"Hmm…" Dino grumbled as he came back with a heated pot in his hands. "I thought I fixed up that flaw for good now."

"Why? Still can't not fall over when your men aren't around?"

"At least 5 kilometers away, I'd still be fine." Dino answered proudly as he went back to get more food.

'Which means that we aren't too far from a city of some kind…' Tsuna thought. 'It doesn't really matter anyway. I don't even remember how I got here in the first place.'

Dino returned with a huge bowl of rice and a large bowl of soup, then brought in many appetizers and condiments. "All for the hungry gourmet."

"I can't eat this all." Tsuna complained. "You're going to make me fat. And that doesn't really look great on the pictures, Dino."

"Oh, complaining?" Dino sat down on the side next to Tsuna's side. "Are you on a diet? And since when were you a celebrity?" He laughed and ordered instantly, "Eat. Now."

"Yes, Dino-san…" Tsuna picked up his chopsticks. "I'll gladly eat." He gave thanks to the food and with his usual manners, began eating. After how many minutes of slurps and chewing, Tsuna grinned with red cheeks from the heat. "This is delicious!"

Dino smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to say something."

"You cooked all of this?" Tsuna asked, in between slurps.

"Yeah, I did."

"Amazing, Dino-san." And that's when Tsuna realized. "Aren't you going to eat too?"

Dino shook his head. "I ate earlier; I'll just eat some snacks."

Tsuna nodded, eating more.

To Dino, it looked as if Tsuna was craving for all of it, as if there was going to be none left. "You look really hungry." He couldn't help but comment.

"Well, of course." Tsuna answered, taking his pick of all the rest of the food he had yet to eat. "The food is so delicious, and I haven't had such a good meal like this for months now."

Dino felt a pang freeze in his chest... 'Months?' He asks himself, then asks out loud, "You haven't been eating?"

Tsuna looked at him, then by realizing what he said, quickly shook his head. "Ah, don't worry about it. I have been eating."

Dino still gave him a serious look which made Tsuna stop his eating, feeling the glowering affects of the 'I-must-know' aura radiating off of the older. It was quiet, with none saying a word, nor any movements at all.

Dino's eyes fell to the table, a part of the view including Tsuna's bruised hand which laid on the table surface lifelessly. "Please explain to me."

Tsuna's eyes hardened, his eyes also falling to his hands.

They couldn't bare look at each other anymore, not eye to eye.

After no connecting between Tsuna and anybody for about a year, it was only inevitable that it would be awkward, which Tsuna prepared for.

Dino continued. "Why'd you disappear and cut off all connections with everyone, including your family?"

"That… I cannot answer…" Tsuna said quietly.

His tone was harsher. "What have you been doing this whole time? Why is it that I have to look at you like this, battered and beaten, and I can't do anything about it?"

Tsuna didn't answer.

"I figured you wouldn't tell me anything. And I don't know why. Nobody knows why." Dino's hand slammed down against the table. "But it's hard, Tsuna. You disappearing on us affected everybody. And here you are, in front of me, the same person. The same person I thought I knew is like a stranger now."

Tsuna looked at him now. "What?"

"You here right now. I've known you for so long, but somehow seeing you like this." Dino shook his head angrily. "It frustrates me. That I've known you for years, spent many memories with you and your family and friends. But somehow, with you gone for one year, not hearing from you at all, then you suddenly appear with scars and cuts and bruises from reason you won't tell me." Dino gripped his hands tightly, confessing, "It scared me… It scares me, Tsuna."

"You… shouldn't worry about me." Tsuna said coldly. "After all, I shouldn't have met with you at all."

Dino yelled, "How could you say that? I looked at you right outside my window and it looked like you were going to DIE! Saying that you shouldn't have met with me, not stumbling upon here, YOU WOULD'VE BEEN DEAD WITHOUT US KNOWING!" Dino breathed, settling himself down, but the anger still rising. "This whole year, everyone has been wondering where you have been, worrying about you. What are you doing… And we realize, that you would be … alone."

"Alone…" Tsuna repeated. "As of right now, I must be alone, Dino-san."

Dino spat. "And why do you say that? So you could go off on another year, doing things we don't know?"

"You mustn't know."

"But why?" Dino said furiously. "The Tsuna I'd know wouldn't just keep things to himself. And he especially wouldn't suddenly disappear on us without any warning. He would stay connected with us and keep us reassured. He would always give encouragement and cheer to the people around him. He wouldn't dare to disappoint anybody purposely. He wouldn't hide anything. He would always be reliable. He wouldn't be alone!"

"Then I guess I'm not the Tsuna you know."

Dino paused, now looking clearly to the face of the young Vongola Boss.

"But… I'll say this as it is all I can say." Tsuna said. "I can't tell you or anybody else because I know if any of you knew, it would cause grief. I am not happy with leaving you all behind without a single trace and notice of how I am doing because I must keep you safe. I disappeared with a reason, and this reason, though it reflects my absence, would be for your future. I hide things from you so you wouldn't have to worry. I keep things to myself to burden the pain and aches that I would never want to see on anybody else. The things I am doing must not be known, no matter how placid or destructive, but it's for a greater cause and will change your lives to my comfort. I cause the sorrow now so in the end I may return to smiles and to find a better future than what could possibly happen and that you all wouldn't have to bear something even more stronger than the feeling of loss... I must be alone…"

Tsuna paused, not knowing why, but continued. "I must be alone to accomplish this all."

Dino was shaken. The man before him, he looked like Tsuna, talked like Tsuna, acted like Tsuna, through and through. But Dino knew, that the same Tsuna he knew, also became another Tsuna..

"And I'm sorry." Tsuna looked down. " I really am sorry for all that I have caused, but please…please trust me. You may hate me, but all I ask is that you trust me."

Dino clenched his fist tighter, then loosened his muscles completely. "… I could never hate you… And for sure, I trust you, Tsuna. But I can't forgive you…"

Tsuna nodded. " Of cour -" He was interrupted by a large warm hand, ruffling his hair.

"I can't forgive you…" Dino continued. "Until you return home for good."

Tsuna's eyes widened and he nodded.

"Your words…" Dino said, withdrawing his hand and leaning back in his chair, "Each one has become amazing. I, too, am sorry. I shouldn't have lost my cool like that."

"I can't blame you for being angry…"

"But whatever your doing, I see now…"

"Hmm?"

Dino looked at his brother. "It's for the Family right?"

Tsuna smiled a little, nodding slowly. "Yes… and for everybody else, including you."

"I knew it. Then that reason alone can set me at ease." Dino smiled. "Haa~ You seriously can't tell me?"

"Unless you're willing to risk your life."

"I'm up for the job."

"Sorry, no openings right now."

Dino grinned. "Not only have you changed, but your humor too."

"Oh, I've come across some jokes." Tsuna said proudly. "Though they're pretty lame."

"When you return, go for it." Dino said.

After a while of needed silence, Tsuna asked hesitantly, "You're okay, letting me go like this?"

Dino shook his head. "No, not at all. Your wounds are clearly visible and won't heal anytime soon, even with the Sun's regeneration ability." Dino noticed the coiling look on Tsuna's face and decided to finally give up. "But who am I to stop you?"

"Oh?"

"You've really become a mafia boss that the world needs. You've become the Vongola Boss everyone would look forward to seeing." Dino smiled. "I'm very impressed. It's beyond my reach."

"You've done wonders too, Dino." Tsuna added. "And very commendable ones too."

"And when you return, you'll tell me all about the wonders you've accomplished which surpasses mine. Are you done eating?" After receiving a nod, Dino began picking up the bowls on the table. "After all, you've beaten the Milliefiore." He instantly noticed how Tsuna's nerves reacted to the word and gave him an odd look. "Oh, have I stumbled upon a hint?"

"Like I said, if you don't want to die, then you might as well stop trying to pass the line." Tsuna said annoyed. He drew a line on the table with his finger. "You see, this is the line." And now, pointing out to fingers to represent a man walking. "And this is you walking over the line." He made his finger man walk over the line, just to get smacked away by a boulder created by a free fisted hand. "Was my speech really for nothing? Did it just go into one ear and came out on the other?" He also joined in with the cleaning now, waiting for an answer.

"No, every word was like a morsel of heaven." Dino answered, his voice as suave as ever.

"Lovely." Tsuna plainly replied. "Then start treating it like as so."

"But you will have to tell me."

Tsuna sighed. "You're already making plans…"

"And they are sure to stay, but you make it sound like whatever your doing is a free ticket to death." Dino shrugged, walking toward the kitchen. "I don't see how I can be sure you'd make it back safely to tell me of all your wonderful, extra adventures."

"I'll come back alive. That is a fact." Tsuna now blanched. "But I just realized if whether or not I'm going to live long enough when I'm back..."

Dino gave him a questioning look. "Why?"

"At least you are Dino-san, even though you are angry with me, didn't kill me… But for Hibari-san and Mukuro…"

"Eee…" Dino blanched too, realizing the younger one's thoughts. "They'd be worse than me, damage included with the package."

"Agreed."

"Well, good luck with your escape plan." Dino encouraged, retreating to the kitchen.

-x-

"Ah, Dino-san, thank you for the day.. And the clothes… and food… and hospitality." Tsuna grinned sheepishly, looking down at his new warm coat. He also had a suitcase full of clothes prepared by Dino, and a full bag of food, leftovers from the night and many snacks as well as extra things Dino could pack in there. He also had a new hat to wear which he liked very much. "I must return my gratitude."

"Just come home. That and everyone's reactions would be enough." Dino said warmly. "When are you going to return?"

"I don't know."

"Well, as long as you come back then all is good."

Tsuna could only smile now.

"I really enjoyed this day today." Dino chuckled, "We played some games and talked about a lot. I figured my days here would be pretty boring, but you surely made it moments that I would never forget."

"The same feeling here, Dino-san." Tsuna nodded, feeling mutual with it all. "I must leave now. Before it becomes night."

"Hey," Dino said with a serious look. "This isn't good-bye."

"No farewell?"

"It'd be too sad for me."

Tsuna was amused as he also thought the same. "So, what will we do? We can't just stand here and stare at each other."

Dino smiled. "Well, I think it's like the first time we met actually."

Tsuna raised a brow. "Why's that?"

"Maybe not for you, but for me it surely is. And a very interesting one too." Dino nodded. "It's like the first time we met. And I'll only think this. That I will want another day to meet with Tsuna. Never Good-bye."

"Then… I guess I'll think the same Dino-san." Tsuna nodded. "I have to go now… Let's… meet again, Dino-san?"

"Let's."

Tsuna nodded and turned for the view of white, it was snowing outside.

"Ah.. I missed Christmas right?" Tsuna said, turning around in the snow to look at Dino.

"Yep. But there's a whole avalanche of presents waiting for you at home."

"Then I'll look forward to that too." One last smile for the show and he was already walking away.

Dino watched as Tsuna walked along, until his figure faded away behind a blanket of falling snow. He stood there with a nostalgic feeling, the warm smile of Tsuna's still vivid in his mind. He had an odd sense that probably, he had never had a guest in his home at all. Like a déjàvu feeling. But that wasn't true.

Dino thought he had found the Tsuna he knew for all those many years. He thought it was the same Tsuna that would be the same through and through. But Dino knew, the same Tsuna he thought he knew had also become someone else. Another Tsuna. And this Tsuna was someone that Dino knew he would want to know more about. But for now, he would be left to wait, as he couldn't do anything and let him go.

-x-

**I hope you liked it. Dis ish da longest chapter! Care to review?**

- DoJo


	11. Paternalism

**Paternal - ism**

**-x-**

Gokudera walked down the hallway, opening every door he passed by. And with every door he opened, quickly followed, "Hey, is Juudaime here?"

"Tsuna?" Ryohei, being behind one of those such doors in a certain hallway of the many hallways of the large mansion, signaled for his kangaroo to stop its attack, dropping punching gloved fists to his sides. He shook his head. "I haven't seen him all day. Ask, Hibari. He might know."

Gokudera did exactly just that, and after a hop into his car, he was knocking on the sliding paper door of the Namimori Shrine. "Hibari!"

A hand suddenly grabbed at the side of the door, quickly sliding it open in one quick movement. There, Hibari stood, his expression nonchalant. "What do you want?" Irritation was clear in his voice. It was tea time, Gokudera knew, and Hibari obviously wasn't too happy being disturbed.

"Has the Tenth been here?" Gokudera hoped. "Have you seen him at all?"

"No, he hasn't been here. He's been absent all day…" Hibari brought a hand to his chin. "Which means he's skipping out on work. Thank you for informing me. He will surely be punished for his absence."

Gokudera frowned and brought up a hand. "Oi, don't you even dare -" then waving his hands. "No, there's no need to punish him." A little growl escaped and he continued. "He already finished all his work… surprisingly. And now, he turns up no where to be found."

"He's not in the mansion?"

"I've looked all over, even asking anybody I lay my eyes on if they've seen the Tenth. They don't know about his whereabouts."

Hibari gave him a long look, a look that was much different from what Gokudera had ever seen, but it was only for a slight moment, seeming like it never happened. The prefect turned his back to the other, taking hold of the sliding door. "You'll find him." Then the door closed.

Gokudera rose a brow, then turned away from the shrine, making a stride for his car. He saw Kusakabe coming up from the staircase leading to the shrine and gave him a wave.

"Ah, Gokudera-san. I saw your car down there so I figured you'd be here." Kusakabe greeted. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Juudaime has gone missing." Gokudera crossed his arms. "It really bothers me."

"Well, of course it would. It would bother anybody since he had after all disappeared on us before." The pompadour received a very grim look from the other and shook his head. "But that is something of the past, no need to still ponder upon it."

"Well, I'm going to head for the city - to see if I can figure out anything there. See you." Gokudera bowed slightly and passed by Kusakabe, who gave a little wave in response.

-x-

Yamamoto looked around, studying each one with intent. He couldn't really choose this time. All of them looked so pretty, worthy to be given to his father. But which one would be best? … Or rather, which would his father choose? He sighed, seeing that this sort of problem always occurred to him every time he came by… He scanned over the ones near the window, glittering with water beads against the sun. But a shadow blocked the sunlight, distracting Yamamoto enough to look up.

He blinked and pointed out the window. "Gokudera?"

Said person noticed him after and entered the shop, the door jingling lightly by small bells. Gokudera looked around a little bit before he made his way to Yamamoto, looking at him with a questioning expression. "Why are you in a Flower shop?"

"Ah, about that…" Yamamoto spotted some delicate flowers in the middle of the shop, then looked at Gokudera. "What flowers do you like?"

Gokudera frowned. "Why exactly? It's not for me, is it?" He frowned more as Yamamoto didn't respond.

"Umm… well, what flowers would you get for you dad if he passed away?"

The blunt reply was, "Dead, wilted roses."

Yamamoto frowned. "How unloving."

"I never really never liked my dad." He admitted, then smiled a little bit. "But I'm guessing you're getting flowers for your pops, right?"

"Yep." Yamamoto nodded as he was examining another flower, bending down to have a closer look. "I just don't know what to choose though…"

Gokudera looked up, tilting his head in thought. "Probably you should get a flower…" Yamamoto looked at him with hope. "… a flower… that is like you."

Yamamoto stood straight, nodding thoughtfully. "Yeah…there's a problem."

"Already?"

"I don't know what flower I am."

Gokudera flashed out his I-phone and said, "Then let's go to Facebook and figure it out."

"Heh?"

**A minute later…**

"Forget-me-nots?" Gokudera stared at his phone screen. "You're a forget-me-not?"

"I guess so… Excuse me." Yamamoto caught the attention of clerk. "Do you have any forget-me-nots?"

"Yes, we do." A small, old lady appeared from the behind the counter. "They just blossomed yesterday. Would you like to see?"

"Yes, that'd be wonderful." Yamamoto followed happily after the lady, disappearing behind the curtain separating the back from the front.

Gokudera still stared at his screen. "Why a forget-me-not?" He brought a finger to his chin. Somehow the result bothered him. But in the end, he shrugged, also making his way to the back. He needed to tell Yamamoto about the Tenth's absence.

-x-

Yamamoto walked along the small trail of pebbles, lined with evergreen grass. He was humming himself a tune for a while to ignore all the other monuments of graves laying about around him, but then realized it may be rude to the dead people and instantly stopped. He looked down at the forget-me-nots in his arms, a small smile in his face. That Facebook quiz surely was dead on - to his dismay. He then looked up, starting to make out the familiar path. Just a small turn around the group of trees and there would lie his father's grave.

As he walked, Yamamoto couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling upon his heart. Though his past self, along with Tsuna and the rest of the gang, saved this future from living hell, it still didn't change anything that had already happened. He always wondered why that was the case, ever since he stepped out of the white device Shoichi Irie had created. He was sure that everyone else wondered why too. Wondered why things didn't change, like it was expected. Why his father… wasn't alive now.

He passed by the group of trees and turned a little to the left, suddenly stopping in his tracks. He looked on to where his father's grave laid and on top of his monument laid a beautiful array of flowers, scattered and laid perfectly upon the grave, as if angels had danced around, blessing the area. He slowly walked toward it, soon finding himself standing before the monument. Yamamoto couldn't help but stare; he hadn't visited his father's grave for a few months now, nor did he ever mention its location to anyone… No, he had told someone… There was only one other person that knew this place…

"Yamamoto?" A soft voice quietly asked.

Yamamoto turned around, flowers still in hand, and recognized the person before him. "Ah, Tsuna." Tsuna gave a small smile and walked over, now standing next to him. The brunette didn't seem like he was going to say anything as he looked on at the grave, so Yamamoto continued. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to visit… pay my respects to a man I greatly owe a lot to." Tsuna answered quietly. "He truly did a lot for me, and I'm ashamed I didn't repay him back."

Yamamoto wanted to say something for his defense, but couldn't mouth anything.

"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have met a great friend like you…" Tsuna squatted down now, brushing away some petals that covered the name. "He was the one that taught you a great power, and without it, we wouldn't have won those many fights. And he also accepted the fact that his son joined my mafia family. He served great food. He was truly a great man and father." Tsuna stood up now, leaning his weight on one leg. "I still feel guilty though… that I couldn't do anything. I feel like it was my fault -"

"It's not your fault." Yamamoto responded. "…It's not your fault…" He repeated.

Tsuna nodded, his smile fading away. "Are those forget-me-nots for him too?"

"You know what they are?"

"Yeah, I do…" Tsuna answered, taking the bouquet of forget-me-nots and placing them down gently on the grave. "But why forget-me-nots?" He couldn't help but ask. "I know they are blue and all… but…"

Yamamoto faced down, rubbing the back of his neck slowly. "I don't know why either… but taking the test that Gokudera gave me… I ended up with them."

"The flower test on Facebook?" Tsuna chuckled lightly.

"You know that too?" surprise evident in Yamamoto's voice.

"Things get around."

There was another silence that engulfed them, the rustling of grass and leaves by warm wind only heard. Tsuna looked over at Yamamoto, who in turn, also looked back. They held their gaze for a easy moment, until Yamamoto closed his eyes.

"Actually… I lied… I probably know why it's forget-me-nots…" Yamamoto confessed.

Tsuna didn't say anything, but waited intently for the conclusion.

Yamamoto could sense Tsuna's eagerness to know though. He really didn't want to admit it, as it felt like a blow to his pride. But since it's Tsuna, the only thing he could expect were helpful words, words that he knew he'd need. "I guess I was afraid… after my dad died, I was afraid of being forgotten…"

"Forgotten?" Tsuna repeated, his brows narrowing. "Do you mean for your father being forgotten?"

"No… me." Yamamoto ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know why I keep thinking that though. It bothers me a lot. But I have a feeling that it's truth. I don't want to be forgotten… it's my biggest fear, even since when I was a kid."

Tsuna sighed. "Well, anybody would be afraid about being forgotten. Even I feel that way sometimes. But it must be hard for you… Your father who was always with you is… gone. He was the one supporting you, the one you considered family, your real family. " then a shrug. "Unlike me, I've always had my mother and father, who I understood later down in my years, that I've been taking for granted. Sure without them, I'd feel lonely, but it's different for your view."

"I guess…" Yamamoto shifted a bit. "Truthfully, I don't know where my mother is… I have very few memories of her… but I have no motherly figure in my life… until I met your mom."

"Haha. You could consider my mother as everyone's mother by the looks of it now. The family has grown too big for just the house now."

"She's really nice. Everyone likes a mother like her."

"Yeah…" Tsuna smiled. "I know…"

"But still… that loneliness and fear doesn't subside…"

"It won't go away that easily. It's hard." Tsuna openly stated. "So you'll just have to replace it."

Yamamoto looked at him now, misunderstanding clear on his face.

"Never forget your father. Everyone else and I, too, will always remember him. He's a part of our family." Tsuna looked back at him. "And so are you. You are a part of my family and always will be. We'll never forget you, Yamamoto. Forgetting is taboo. We can never leave you behind. But as of right now, what you need most is time. And if anything, you need help…" Tsuna smiled. "We'll be there to back you up."

Such simple words brought a smile on Yamamoto's face. Tsuna could sense the relief just by his expression alone. "Th-thank you… it's very reassuring…"

"You should've known that all along." Tsuna replied. "It's going to be like this forever more."

"Yeah…" Yamamoto sighed. " I … was just a little impatient is all."

"Perhaps, but no one can blame you…"

After a brief pause, Yamamoto asked, "So you know… that today was the day of my father's death?"

"Yeah… I clearly remembered that day. I apologize though… for suddenly intruding and not notifying you before hand."

"No.. I told you about this place. It's fine." Yamamoto assured, truly meaning it.

Tsuna looked at the tombstone. "I was heartbroken that day… I couldn't do a thing."

"…Neither could I… I'm the one to blame…"

"No… it's not your fault either…" Tsuna countered. "We just couldn't do anything about the inevitable. We can't beat the destiny of death. One way or another, as depressing as it sounds, we're bound to death the very day we're born."

"That's a settled way to put it." Yamamoto looked at all the other flowers scattered around. "You brought these flowers right?"

"Yep, except your forget-me-nots…" Tsuna answered. " I wanted to get flowers of hope. And so I scouted for each of them."

"I see… it seems my forget-me-nots are out of place now…"

"I wouldn't think so…" Tsuna smiled, picking up his jacket from the ground. "It's like a symbol for you and your father. We'll never forget your father like we'll never forget you. It's your father's present and it's your future."

Yamamoto was surprised at such creativity that Tsuna was able to spout. It was like a whole new Tsuna that he never encountered had appeared before him. 'Perhaps…' he thought to himself, '… this is the Tsuna that Dino was talking about… this different Tsuna.'

"Yamamoto?"

"Hmm?"

"You spacing out on me now?"

"No…" He chuckled. "Just thinking about how amazing you've suddenly become… not saying that you weren't before… but you just suddenly got ten times more amazing than I'd ever expect."

"I'm taking that as a compliment then…" Tsuna chuckled, then looked down at the grave. He gave a silent prayer and bowed slightly before taking his leave.

Yamamoto also gave a short but steady prayer for his father, all his thoughts mashed into one big 30 second prayer, then bowed. He turned to find Tsuna waiting for him from behind, seeing him jerk his head slightly to signal their leave.

Once they were on the pebble trail, they started talking again.

"You know…" Yamamoto started, his mood lighter than before. "Gokudera is looking all over for you."

"Is he really?" Tsuna laughed. "I'm told he's like a loyal lost puppy when it comes to me. I didn't know what to say."

Yamamoto laughed along with him. "Heh, I could actually see that now you mention it…"

Tsuna continued walking along, but stopped when he realized that Yamamoto increasingly lagged behind. He turned around, facing a quite serious looking Yamamoto.

"Tsuna… I want to ask you a question… while we're still alone here…" Yamamoto muttered, loud enough to reach the other.

Tsuna looked at him, his mind sparking with curiosity. "Go ahead."

-x-

"Juudaime." Gokudera stood in front of his desk.

"Hmm?" He was already busy with some scattered papers.

"Here's the documents for today. Please finish them before the end of the day."

"Will do." Tsuna looked up at him from his chair, taking hold of the pile of paper. "Ohh, it's lighter today." He mused cheerfully.

"Yes, it is, huh? The rest is waiting behind my counter." Gokudera replied, walking toward his desk.

This made Tsuna drop the papers on his desk, some pieces flying away. "WHAT?"

"You see, I don't want you running off again because there is too much paperwork which I know you really hate." Gokudera explained. "That's why I separated them so I know it won't be too much work…" He sat down in his own chair and flashed a big grin, only to find the Tenth's head banging against the desk. He instantly stood up, out of his seat, a worried expression crossing his face.

"Oh, woe is me. And I thought it was finally getting it easy…" Tsuna whispered, pouting. This earned a raised brow from Gokudera, his worry fading away - quickly.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Come in." Gokudera said loud enough.

And through the doors, Yamamoto came in, his expression somewhat worrisome. "Ah, Tsuna!" This quickly caught said person's attention.

"You're finally awake." Gokudera muttered, crossing his arms.

Yamamoto dismissed Gokudera's nagging and walked up to Tsuna's desk. "Tsuna, what happened?"

Tsuna stood up from his desk. "About yesterday?"

"I heard that I fainted and you brought me home…" Yamamoto rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't remember anything that happened after we were at my father's grave…" He looked to Tsuna who shook his head slowly.

"You just fainted is all. I'm not surprised though, since you worked really hard for the past few days." The mafia boss replied quietly.

"Errr… sorry about that…"

"What? Me carrying you back home? Ha, I didn't mind." Tsuna frowned. "Though it was kind of tough dragging you to my car. You were heavier than I expected." He laughed a little.

Gokudera took a place in front of Tsuna's desk, arms still crossed. "But still, you shouldn't have caused trouble for Juudaime."

"It wasn't any trouble at all." Tsuna intervened. "At least I can be at peace, knowing that my guardians get their rest… Now…" Tsuna started looking down at all his documents. " - I better start working…"

Yamamoto, seeing the piles of work and the slumping expression on the brunette's face, decided to help free his friend from the horrendous work. "Ne, how about we play some baseball today?" He asked enthusiastically, spreading his arms in emphasis.

Tsuna looked up from the papers and answered, "I'm up for it." He watched the tall man give him a big proud smile which signaled him a time of relief.

"HEY!" Gokudera yelled angrily. "This is not time for games and play! Juudaime and I need to work, unlike you."

Yamamoto frowned. "I do work hard. It's just every time you don't see it."

Tsuna stepped out from behind his desk, walking up to the two. "It really is true, Gokudera. Yamamoto does work very hard, just like I said earlier."

"Che."

"If you don't want to play baseball, we can always play something else… like basketball… or badminton." Yamamoto suggested with a bigger smile.

"Why are they all B-games?" Gokudera spat.

"Tennis? Soccer? Football?" Yamamoto shook his head. "No… volleyball?"

Tsuna sighed, a small smile forming on his lips. "For now…" He mumbled. "This is the way things should be."

"HMM?" Both of them looked his way, apparently missing that whole statement.

"Ah, nothing." Tsuna assured, opening the door to his office and leading out to the large hall way. "How about we go for some ice-cream?" He didn't know why, but ice-cream just sounded good right now.

"I like chocolate." Yamamoto piped in happily, already heading following behind him.

"Well, vanilla still is better." Gokudera countered, also making a place next to his boss. "I like vanilla."

"Heh? Gokudera, you like vanilla?" Tsuna asked with disbelief. He started blubbering. "But last time… I gave you chocolate… (reference to ch.1)"

"Ah, Juudaime! It's alright!" Gokudera waved his arms flustered. "I'm okay with either!"

"Maa, maa." Yamamoto swung both of his arms over the other two's shoulders. "We'll all go and have a good time."

Suddenly, they were pushed over by an incredibly strong force.

"HAHAHA! YOU CAN'T BEAT ME! I'M EXTREMELY STRONG!" Ryohei shouted down the hall, pointing a boxing glove at Hibari who was quickly following after.

"OI! LAWN-HEAD!" Gokudera began his rampage, pointing a defiant finger at the passionate fighter. "You ran us over with your stupid extremeness!"

"You are making too much disturbing noise, Sasegawa." Hibari lashed out his blazing, violet tonfas. "You will be punished." Then his eyes darted beyond Ryohei, to Tsuna. "As well as you, for being absent."

Tsuna blanched. Yamamoto laughed. Ryohei and Gokudera yelled. Hibari stood there looking all cool.

Yes…

This was our Vongola family.

"Oya, oya. What's all this loud noise?" Mukuro winced, rubbing his ear.

Everyone paused in the middle of their attacks. Where did he come from?

"Yare, yare… this always happens. Expected from stupid adults…" Lambo appeared behind him, one eye closed. "It gets really annoying."

"How interesting…" Mukuro sighed. "Haa~ It wounds me that I'm not apart of such a fuss…"

And somehow, the family just became louder (and destructive). This was how the family was supposed to be (…if it were just them).

-x-

Disclaimer: Facebook does not belong to me (pssh, obviously as I'm a silly high schooler). Neither does the "Flower Quiz" because I didn't make one AND I'm sure somewhere down in the depths of past Facebook quizzes, there is a flower test/quiz sort of thing.

- Do Jo


	12. Camping

**Camping**

**-x-**

"_You really should go camping sometime, Tsu-kun." His mother cooed._

At the moment, Tsuna wished he really hadn't. Where he was right now, things just weren't going according to plan. Of course, he should have expected in the first place. He should have considered how much of an uncoordinated group they were - when it wasn't about fighting techniques and tactics. Basically, everything was in flames.

"AGH! YOU STUPID LAWN-HEAD! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Gokudera scolded.

"RAAAAAAAA! THE TENT'S ON FIRE!" Ryohei yelled in alarm, after realizing the blazing sparks (which took a minute or two).

Yamamoto ran to get water.

Hibari wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Reborn looked on with amusement.

Lambo was crying because the food was burning.

Tsuna sighed in defeat.

It was only an hour, it took only an hour - for everything to blow up in flames.

"Oi, Tsuna!" Reborn threw a rock at the brunette, watching as his pupil was shocked by the sudden impact and fell over. Until the brunette wearily stood on two feet, he scolded, "You're the boss. You should be able to handle this problem and regain order among your guardians."

Tsuna grimaced, glaring at his mentor for the past two years. Yes, he was allowed to glare at Reborn now. "I'd like to, myself."

"Then do something." Reborn threw another rock, smiling to see that his student easily dodged it. "You can't just stand there and look pretty."

Tsuna nodded and turned around, to find his guardians fussing, the fire now gone, the Tent in burnt ashes, the things in the tent (such as clothes, food, and all that good stuff) charcoal, and still no Hibari to be seen. He forced a trudge toward them, and once in earshot, raised his hands proclaiming, "Let's go home!"

…Way to solve it, Tsuna.

"HAH?" Ryohei quickly turned his attention to the brunette. "I EXTREMEMLY WANT TO STAY HERE!"

"And what good is that going to do us, huh?" Gokudera spat. "Thanks to you, all our supplies are burnt to the crisp and useless. We possibly can't survive out here."

Tsuna smiled.

"Yes, we can."

The smile quickly disappeared.

Yamamoto stepped forward. "We can stay out here. I was in boy scouts before and had to do a lot of camping. I know a thing or two about living in the wild."

"As so was I." Hibari fell out from the sky. Well, not really. He jumped out of a tree. (He was napping on a branch, of course. And he wasn't too happy with all the yelling.) "Boy scouts was the epoch of entry to manhood. Living out here is nothing. If you can't live out in the wild, then you're just a herbivore."

"Then it's settled." Reborn hopped on to Yamamoto's shoulder. "We stay out here."

'Well,' Tsuna thought grimly, 'It was only to be expected…'

-x-

Hibari was the one making orders now. He told Yamamoto to find a good place to camp. He forced Ryohei to find food. Hibari ignored Gokudera and Lambo. And Tsuna… was rather impressed, as to what authority and respect Hibari was given. He noted how well Hibari was when it came to commands and orders (Gokudera wasn't so happy about it though). Tsuna thought it was truly admirable.

"Herbivore." Hibari threw a stick at Tsuna, watching his victim drop the branches gathered in his hands. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Tsuna was already on his knees picking up the branches.

"He was staring at you, Hibari." Reborn appeared as a bush with red flowers. "I always suspected this day would happen."

Hibari raised a brow and Tsuna dropped the branches again to wave his hands in denial. "It's not like that, Reborn. You've got it all wrong." Tsuna reasoned.

"You were staring at him for the past five minutes. That's got to mean something." The tone was a matter-of-fact.

Now picking up the dropped branches for the second time. "I was just… impressed is all." Tsuna met with a shadow and peered upwards, to find a Hibari looming over him.

"What are you impressed with?" Hibari demanded, his eyes narrowing. He stepped back a little to allow space large enough for the brunette to stand up with the gathered branches in hand.

Tsuna tilted his head a bit, then answered, "You have a lot of authority, Hibari. That's… really commendable. And how you can order around people with such demand, though it's not good to do that in certain cases, you are able to handle people well…It would be good to have such authority, I think… to keep others safe."

Hibari stared at the herbivore, then took a glance at Reborn, who gave him a meaningless smile. He turned around, and orders were quick to follow.

"Bring the branches to the pile over there. We'll need a fire soon."

-x-

Tsuna walked out from the campsite to find Gokudera. He knew that his friend wasn't really in a good mood. After all, Gokudera had planned it all out for them to all have a good time. (It was sadly inevitable that the baseball idiot, lawn-head, and cow had to come along though, Gokudera had been saying ever since the plan started. He wasn't expecting a carnivore to tag along either. Apparently there was a crowding at the school, but he really couldn't do much about it.) And now, the plans were effortlessly crushed at the beginning. Tsuna figured he might as well cheer up the guy. He eventually found Gokudera near a mountain of rocks.

"Hey, Gokude-" Tsuna wasn't able to complete his greeting because a hand had instantly slammed against his mouth. He found that Gokudera had instantly jumped from his original spot to his side, with a frantic expression plastered on his face. "Please, be silent, Juudaime." Gokudera whispered as low as he could. He removed his hand and began wiping away some dirt he had accidentally smeared on Tsuna's face. "Sorry, Juudaime."

Once the hand withdrew, Tsuna replied quietly, "It's alright… So, what are you doing?"

"Hmm? Oh, over there. You see that little cave?" Gokudera pointed at the little crevice in the rock mountain. "There was some baby foxes in there trying to get out, and one of them got stuck under some rocks."

"Is it okay?" Tsuna asked quietly.

"It's still under the rocks." Gokudera now pulled away from Tsuna to stand in front of the little cave. "I'm still trying to get the little guy out." He bent down a little and stuck a hand inside the crevice, tilting his head for a better view.

Tsuna looked around and spotted the family of foxes, one mother and two kids hidden beneath the bushes... And the one in the crevice, which Gokudera was going after, must be apart of that family. He was about to step closer until he heard a, "Ah! Almost there."

And quickly after, Gokudera stood straight, turning around to reveal a little red fox in his hands. He held it gently and inspected it. "It doesn't look like it broke anything. No cuts…" Gokudera now turned toward the fox's family and squatted down, letting the little guy go. They both watched the fox sniff itself, checking out its own legs, then scamper off within the brush.

Gokudera swiped off his hands to get the dirt off. He then turned his absolute attention to Tsuna. "Sorry about that, Juudaime." He then smiled sheepishly. "I was passing by here to look for berries and saw the fox trying to slip out of there, just to let out a little whimper. His family tried to help him, but couldn't… I decided to help out…"

"There's no need to be sorry… that was very benevolent of you." Tsuna then took a glimpse at his hands. "That fox could have bitten you though."

"Thank you." Gokudera smiled at the praise from his Juudaime. "And even if it did bite me, I couldn't blame it for doing so. It was in a tight spot."

"…Perhaps you do come off as a little rash, but seeing this now, at heart, you truly care and people miss that... That's a very good characteristic, to care for others." Tsuna now smiled. "Thank you, also, for planning the camping trip for us, though… it didn't turn out well…"

"Yeah, if they hadn't tagged along, things would be going according to plan." Gokudera shrugged. "But I can't put it off anymore. I've got to get used to them being around. After all, since it's with you, the more the merrier I guess?"

Tsuna laughed. "Yeah." Here, Tsuna found kindness, as well as adjustment.

Even if you don't like it, it's still going to be there, and all you can do is accept it kindly.

-x-

Tsuna weaved through the trees. He really had to go. Yamamoto had told him the lake was this way (though the way didn't exactly have a path), and so far, Tsuna had yet to reach it. Perhaps he got lost. He could just do his business behind a tree… That actually sounded like a good idea.

[After a moment of critical business]

Tsuna sighed in relief. It wouldn't have been too pleasant if he soiled his pants, now would it?

"COME BACK HERE!" Ryohei's voice rang nearby unexpectedly. More of his yells echoed by, enough to capture Tsuna's attention. Tsuna decided to go ahead and see what Ryohei was up to. And being led by all the yelling, alas he found the lake. It was a pleasant little lake, very serene… and calm…

Ryohei quickly disrupted the peaceful scenery by appearing in view, rampaging about in the lake. "STOP GETTING AWAY!" The water around him was crashing about all over the place. Tsuna watched the man fly across one side of the lake, to soon zip through to the other side. The extremeness was obviously displayed. "Onii-san!" He called out, just to call out for a second time. And by the third, Ryohei paused in his frenzy, to somewhat sink down in the water. "Ah, Tsuna!" His gruff voice called back, along with a pointing finger. He made his way toward the shore and met up with Tsuna on the little beach.

"What are you doing, Onii-san?" Tsuna asked, noticing that Ryohei knees down was dripping wet.

"Catching fish for us to eat." He answered simply. "But the fish here are extremely fast. They keep slipping out of my fingers like worms! It's annoying, but I can't give up yet. The team is waiting back at camp. Can't let them down that easily."

"You're very persistent. As well as full of energy." Tsuna commented with a smile.

"Well, of course, I gotta be!" Ryohei grinned. "Everyone's counting on me for food. If I let everyone down, I'd be a failure. Being in high spirits is what keeps me going forward, as well as the support from others." He then pointed a fist at Tsuna. "Listen, Sawada. If you're not in high spirits, no one else is going to be too. How can we keep going without the energy?" Ryohei, for once, had a point and a reason for his extremeness, Tsuna realized. And it was true. How were they to keep moving forward without hopes high and the fuel to persist?

"Is that the reason why you are always hyped up?"

"Seventy Percent of the Time, Yes!"

"Seventy?"

"The thirty percent belongs to just having fun." His tone was blunt and his face was evidence of truth. "I'm always like this. If I'm not, there's something wrong with me; punch me if you have to. I need my spirit. And we should enjoy ourselves."

"Enjoy ourselves huh?"

"So that everyone else can have extremely fun too." Ryohei beamed. "One hundred and ten percent for everyone."

-x-

Yamamoto was trying to light up another fire, of course, in the appropriate place - the stack of branches. He grabbed one little branch and started grinding it against the other, hoping for it to make a spark. He slid it across the edge once, then again, and for another time, just to find no improvement. Then he thought he should probably try using some stones. Placing back the two crushed branches, he started searching through the short grass for rocks.

"Ah, Yamamoto." He looked up to find Tsuna holding a stack of more branches, walking toward him.

"Hey, Tsuna."

"Did you lose something?" Tsuna asked quietly, placing down the branches next to the already made pile. "I'll help you."

"Ah, don't worry. I didn't lose anything…" Yamamoto ran another hand across the grass. "I'm looking for a pair of rocks… to make a spark for the fire." His hand hit a little bump and he grabbed at it, to find he caught a cockroach. He then frowned to find that he crushed its shell and it was already splattered in his hand. "Ah, gross." He pulled out a tissue from his pocket and wiped the bug guts away.

"Oh, here's a pair of rocks." Tsuna crawled back to where Yamamoto was. He held up a pair of smooth rocks. "Are these good?"

Yamamoto smiled, wiping away the last of the guts and sticking the tissue into his back pocket. "Those are great." He was given the rocks and he started striking them together.

**Click, Crick, cliclicliclikikikik. **

Yamamoto sighed. "Hmm… something's wrong here…"

"May I try?" Tsuna held out a hand for the rocks.

"Go for it."

Once the two rocks were in his hands, he struck the rocks together hard, only to find one of them fly away backwards. He looked at Yamamoto, who chuckled saying, "That's amazing, Tsuna. You struck it forward, but it flew backward. That's the impossible."

Tsuna wasn't too sure if he should take that as a compliment. "… I'll go find that rock."

"No, it's fine." Yamamoto waved a hand for him to just stay where he was. "I'll use the sticks." He grabbed another pair of sticks that looked good for sparking a fire and started his swift grinding again.

"So, you learned this from boy-scouts right?"

"Yup." Yamamoto smiled. "Though it was such a long time ago… What was I? … Six or seven? Yeah." He then stuck out a tongue, biting down gently on it. "Making a fire was one of the first things we learned… bit I'm having a bit of trouble." He then stopped, taking a look at Tsuna. "Truthfully, this was the only thing I failed at during boy scouts. I couldn't light a fire."

"Really?"

He resumed his grinding. "Yeah, and I don't know why. It was funny though, since I was doing everything right." He stopped to blow on it, but no sparks were seen. "I had a friend who told me I'd fail at being an arsonist, if I'd ever become one. Haha."

Tsuna raised a lip and stared at the pile of branches. "But even though you knew you couldn't light a fire, you still remembered it anyway?"

"Well, yeah." Yamamoto paused to blow on his hot hands for a little bit to cool them down from the intense friction. "I've always remembered because I want to be able to light a fire one day with my own hands. It's not exactly the biggest goal in my life, but it's one that I'd surely like to accomplish, you know?"

Tsuna sat down Indian-style, leaning forward a bit to blow on the not yet fire. "Probably you can't make one… because you're of the rain attribute."

Yamamoto paused, then progressively came to nod. "Yeah, that makes sense, now that I realize it…." Then after a moment, he started grinding away again, faster this time. "…But that shouldn't stop me, right?"

Tsuna nodded, then blinked, wondering if his eyes deceived him for that moment. He then saw another flicker and slowly started to blow on it. "Keep going, Yamamoto."

His speed increased until it seemed like his hands were a blur. There was a little stray of smoke flying away and the red sparks started to spread within the branches. Soon, the two boys were blowing gently but furiously at the growing sparks. Then a burst of brilliant red erupted on the stack of branches.

"Whoa!" Yamamoto laughed. "We did it!"

Tsuna smiled, stepping back a little from the flying sparks. "You lit a fire, Yamamoto."

"Yeah, yeah." Yamamoto gave him a thumbs up. "We did." His expression was very elated, him staring at the flickering flame.

"All that determination paid off, huh?" Tsuna said, holding out a hand toward Yamamoto.

Yamamoto nodded and accepted the hand, finding himself being hauled up by a strong pull. "Yep. I always knew I could do it, even if they did say I couldn't." He laughed a bit, rubbing his arms. "And now we wouldn't have to be cold tonight."

Reborn watched the two from above on a branch. A smile crept across his face.

-x-

Now all of them were gathered around the fire, eating away the last few bites of the Trout caught by Ryohei's hands. They enjoyed the simple meal, not quite satisfying but enough. Though some awkward moments of silence would befall upon them every now and then. At least now, none of them were too hungry. But surely, they were tired. Even Hibari had to let out a yawn and escape the group for some alone time.

They had spent the rest of their afternoon building a shelter for themselves, as well as something of the likes of insulation around their little fort. Overhead was a thin cover of large leaves, around them they were surrounded by trees which helped a little in safety and warmth, and they made little beds for themselves using brush and little soft leaves. It was good, though they wouldn't have minded having sleeping bags and actual food. The only one who received the left over sleeping bag which was still usable was Lambo.

It was after all of them were comfy around the fire in their little beds that they heard rustling and squirms, obviously coming from the sleeping bag alone.

"Stupid cow, go to sleep already." Gokudera muttered through gritted teeth.

Lambo sat up, his frown covered by darkness. He then looked around and couldn't really see anything. "It's…"

"You have the sleeping bag. You've got the light." Gokudera rolled to his back. "What else can you complain about?"

Lambo, who was now a seven year old, still couldn't get over the fact that he still had his fears. He wasn't as loud and obnoxious, but he still was the same old Lambo - just a little older now. He could do a lot for himself and didn't complain as badly as he used to. But he still was a little kid. And right now, he wished Fuuta was with him (but sadly, Fuuta couldn't come to join them.)

Tsuna rolled over to his right to face the tired sitting figure of Lambo. "Are you alright, Lambo?"

"I'm fine." He simply replied softly, rubbing his eyes of weariness.

Tsuna then rose his brows, noting the expression on Lambo's face. Compared to the rest, Lambo was still the obvious kid of the group and perhaps always will be. There, he realized… and sat up in his bed. "Hey, Lambo."

Lambo turned his head toward him. "Hmm?"

"Would you like to sleep next to me?"

Lambo stared at him for a little while, then nodded slowly.

Gokudera slowly sat up in his bed. "Hah? You're seven years old already and you -" He quickly silenced himself when Tsuna raised a hand toward him, signaling for him to stop.

Lambo had paused in his move when Gokudera interrupted. Tsuna shook his head and said, "Come here. It's fine." Lambo got out of the sleeping bag and walked over to Tsuna's side, spreading out the sleeping bag and snuggling in.

Tsuna laid down again once Lambo began to settle down and said, "Is this better for you?"

Lambo nodded, snuggling himself deeper into the sleeping bag. "It's… cold."

Tsuna smiled, seeing that his companion was already drifting away. "Yes, it's cold out here. Keep yourself warm in there."

Lambo's still a kid. He will be like any other boy out there growing up and having fears. They couldn't already expect him to put up and keep up with them that easily. And he's still got a life to live. Looking through his eyes, it must be a little tough to have to deal with an older age group.

'For now,' Tsuna thought, '… we should do what we can for him until he doesn't like it anymore.'

-x-

**The Next Day…**

Since they were in the cold, all of them did receive colds except Lambo. They were already at home, snuggling warm in their beds and trying to get better and fighting with running noses. Well, most of them. One was being pestered and scolded by a certain tutor.

Reborn couldn't waste such valuable time like this. After a day of no lectures, it surely was the best time for a lesson. And he could care less about all the piles of tissues piling beside his student, and the nose of his student running a never ending marathon. Through thick and thin, his student must withstand it all.

"POP QUIZ?" Tsuna yelled, holding up a paper toward Reborn. "You're kidding me? Since when did you start doing Pop quizzes? And I didn't even study for whatever this test is for!"

"Yes, you did." Reborn smacked away Tsuna's hand. "You've studied. You should know the answers."

"When did I study for this?" Tsuna pointed at the single paper exam, using his other hand to wipe away snot. "I don't ever remember studying for an unknown quiz," he said nasally.

"Yesterday." Reborn simply answered. "You studied yesterday."

"During camping?" Tsuna he blew in a tissue and wadded up into a ball, throwing it toward his trash bin, missing greatly. "I didn't study."

"But you learned and picked up some valuable knowledge from your Guardians yes?"

Tsuna paused as he was about to reach for another tissue. He withdrew his hand and linked it with the other in his lap. He started fiddling with his fingers, deeply watching in thought.

Hibari's control and authority by the respect (or fear) of people.

Gokudera's thoughtfulness and acceptance of his surroundings.

Ryohei's care and energy for the sake of others and their feelings.

Yamamoto's determination and belief in himself.

And Lambo, who showed that perception and looking through the eyes of others' is a major key…

Tsuna could only smile. "…Probably… I did learn something yesterday, huh?"

"Your Guardians all have traits that a Mafia boss would need right?"

"I'm not surprised. Even Lambo…" Tsuna frowned. "I don't think I showed any traits."

"You don't have any traits." This struck a dagger through his heart, a very painful blow to the ego. "But if there is one thing to say, you know how to keep a family together." And this somehow was the bandage and antibiotic gel to the striking wound.

Tsuna sat back in his chair, a sigh escaping his lips. Then a thought hit him.

"What do you think Mukuro would teach me?"

Reborn looked at him, then averted his eyes. "Even I don't know that. But you could ask him."

"Ah…" Tsuna swiped a tissue and blew his nose loudly. "I think I'll pass for that lesson…"

-x-

**Nothing deep here. Just some awesome Guardians and Tutor time… Family time! **

**- DoJo **


	13. Tsunanii

**Tsuna-nii**

**-x-**

It was easy to say that Fuuta was straightforwardly welcomed into the family, just like everyone else (who are much more irrational and reckless and horribly eccentric - times a hundred and fifty) who became apart of the very same family. Everyone welcomed him with open arms and treated him no differently from any other normal person. They fed him what everyone else ate, they talked to him casually, and they were always happy to see him. That's the way this family was, the Sawada family… the Vongola family… That family that has a huge mansion on the top of that hill, far from the city view, but close enough to the district and has very different (and we could say out of this world) business (with whoever looks classy and dangerous) pertaining to other countries and such…

Yeah, that family.

But to Fuuta, how this family was… it was extremely different. From the beginning to now was different. How they welcomed him was different. How the easily accepted him was different. How they had no second thoughts and questions and hesitation was very different. How they treat him like a normal boy that he surely wasn't was different. How they weren't pushy and asking too much out of him was surely not happening. It was very different - different from how others that he had encountered treated him. Perhaps weird and unusual and unpredictable, but different.

That family was exceptionally different.

For Fuuta, a family was something he never really knew. Ever since the discovery of his strange universal power, he had been separated from what he would have called his family. And that was at a very young age, so he never knew who exactly was his family. A distant relative? A mother? A father? A brother or sister? He never knew. He knew about a family and what elements it should have as he would observe it daily in other children, luckier than himself. He's ranked many families in all sorts of categories. But he never really knew what it was like.

Until he met that family.

Fuuta was always being sent to big places and big people. He saw a lot of things, and he knows a lot of things. And he never had time to stop moving, as he had never experienced something like safety. A family kept you safe and always watched your back. But he never really knew that. So this feeling of danger in every step that's made, it would only be called normal to Fuuta.

But that family made him fear.

Fuuta's glad he met such a family, simple at first glance, but holds much potential and fun. They are a wonderful family, very warm and comforting, though it's loud and somewhat dangerous at silly times. He's at peace and can eat and sleep, knowing that he'll be alright through the night. He has a mom to take care of him, a younger brother and sister to look out for, and many older siblings to look up to.

For once, he had a place to call home.

And since a long time…

_He has a family._

It was that family.

-x-

"AAAAAAAAA-AAAHHH! I'm LATE!" Tsuna's hopeless scream echoed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Nana, Tsuna's mother, simply smiled, carefully dabbing an alcohol pad on Fuuta's fresh, new scrape on his knee. "He's finally awake, ne?" A little giggle came from her as stomping was clearly heard above. Every thump-thump-thump, then a big ker-thud.

Fuuta nodded, wondering if it was alright to let his older brother over sleep. He looked down on his wound, which gushed out minor bubbles of blood, and frowned. "…I'm sorry… I shouldn't have been so careless."

"Oh, no." Nana smiled reassuringly, ready to cover up his wound. "It's fine… You did the right thing, keeping Lambo safe and letting yourself get hurt. Though it would've been best if no one was injured, we should be at least happy that it wasn't any worse, right?" She was already done treating the wound and stood up from her chair, gathering the supplies of the first aid kit and locking it.

Fuuta nodded again, looking at the cow printed band-aid on his knee.

Suddenly, they both heard a scatter of stomps upstairs and repeated thumping, the finale being a loud thud against hard wood floor, at the first floor. In response to this, Nana opened her first aid kit again. Tsuna appeared, leaning against the post of the entrance to the kitchen, with a frustrated face. He staggered over to the table, earning a look of worry to both his spectators. He waved a hand carelessly. "I'm… I'm fine…" he managed to say. His clothes were rather disoriented, but fully on him, and his hair was poking out in many directions. It was none other than an eye-sore to his mother's eyes. Nana frowned at him and stepped before him, fixing up his tie and smoothing out his shirt. "Tsu-kun, you could at least tidy yourself up."

"Mom," Tsuna started, while reaching over for a slice of bread, "I don't exactly have any time left. Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

His mom now started wiping away flakes off his face and fixing his hair to the best of her ability. "You're a third year now. You should be responsible." She stepped back to marvel her work, only to frown again when her son ruffled his hair.

"Well, I need to go now. Bye, Mom."

"Have a good day, Tsu-kun." The nickname just never got old, evident by Nana's giggling at her son's rolling of the eyes.

Fuuta was silently watching the whole time, still watching Tsuna walk out of the kitchen, then to find that his older brother returned. Tsuna walked up beside his chair and ruffled his hair playfully. "Fuuta, I'll see you later. Have a good day." Then, once again, he left. Fuuta looked down at the table again, and a smile was beginning to form on his face.

"Ahh… what will I do with him…" Nana sighed, putting up the first aid kit into a cabinet. "He can be quite the handful. I can't help but worry for him…"

Fuuta titled his head. "Tsuna-nii?"

Nana turned around, covering her mouth in surprise. "Oops, did that come out? Haha. Yes, Tsu-kun. I love him dearly, but I can't seem to leave him alone. I worry too much… that he won't be able to handle a lot."

"No…" Fuuta shook his head. "Tsuna-nii can do a lot. He looks to be somewhat helpless, as they say in my ranks, but I don't think so… Tsuna-nii… I look up to him a lot. I would… really like to be like him."

With this, Nana smiled.

-x-

Fuuta loved to hang out with his older brother Tsuna. Sure, it was fun with everyone else since it's so lively, but spending days at home with his older brother were as equally fun, though they were very rare occasions.

Today, Lambo and I-pin went out with Bianchi, leaving Fuuta alone at home. Fuuta didn't tag along because he didn't feel so well this morning, but he didn't tell them that. Tsuna's mother easily figured it out though and decided to go out and get him medicine and good food for him. Nobody else was home because it was a school day.

The house was unusually quiet, which Fuuta noted this as he walked down the stairs to the living area. He sat down on the couch and reached for the blanket sitting at the arm rest. He pulled up his knees against his chest and felt a cold shiver run up his back, making him curl up into a ball.

"The house is really quiet…" He muttered to himself groggily.

Fuuta was already so sleepy that he didn't even hear the front door unlocking and closing. He didn't even hear the stamping footsteps of worry. He even missed the voice that called his name.

But it's not like Tsuna minded, evident as he took a step back from the sleeping boy with a small smile on his face. He felt relieved that Fuuta was still safe at home. After getting the call from his mother that Fuuta was alone at home and sick, he basically flew out the class, barely escaping the intimidating Hibari. He gently placed a hand on the boy's heated forehead and frowned.

"His fever is high…" Tsuna muttered, quickly standing up to get a wet towel. He went to the kitchen, just to come back immediately with a white towel and a bowl of cold water. He sat down in front of the couch, setting his props next to him and dabbing the towel cold. After wringing out the water, he laid it neatly on Fuuta's head, wiping away dripping water.

For however many minutes, Tsuna watched the boy sleep soundly, hydrating the cloth every now and then. It was probably after two hours that he heard some movement coming from the little boy.

Fuuta blinked, sniffling. "Ah, Tsuna-nii…"

"Morning." Tsuna looked up from his school work and smiled. "How are you doing?"

"Tsuna-nii… aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Yeah." Here, Tsuna closed his book. "But Mom told me you were alone and sick. I came here immediately."

Fuuta just stared at him. Then he giggled cheerfully. "Heh, thank you, Tsuna-nii…"

Tsuna reached over to take the dry cloth from his forehead and dipped it into the water again. "You should've told me this morning that you were sick."

"I… didn't want to worry you…" Fuuta closed his eyes slightly as Tsuna put the towel on his head. When he opened his eyes, he was faced with a frown.

"Next time…" Tsuna watched him with a worried expression. "…You should tell me. Not telling me is worse, you know."

Fuuta blinked again, then nodded. "…Okay."

Now, Tsuna smiled. "Good."

"Are you going to stay?"

"Of course. Anyway I don't want to be in school right now, not when you're sick."

And there's a test he's supposed to be taking right now which he did not study for, but it didn't seem right to add that in.

-x-

If anything, to Tsuna, Fuuta was everything like a little brother should and would be. Younger, dependent, and always looking for you and following you around. Being an only child for mostly his whole life, it was kind of weird to Tsuna at first. But after a short while, it simply became natural and actually quite comforting. As his mother put it, he has someone to play with now. A little brother who depends on him and looks up to him. Tsuna wasn't sure if he was enough to 'look up to' but it surely did flatter him immensely. And Tsuna, after a while, felt the need to protect Fuuta, whether it be from bullies to bullets; he just instinctively knew that it was the right thing to do, especially for Fuuta.

But the thought of Fuuta being his younger brother never actually hit him until the day his mother went out to develop some pictures she took of their large and random family.

"Look, look, Tsu-kun." His mother beckoned him that afternoon when he returned from school.

Tsuna set down his school bag on the kitchen table and stood next to his mom in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. "What's up?"

"The pictures from a few weeks ago," she handed some to him while continuing, "I got them developed this morning."

Tsuna nodded, now studying the pictures. The one on top was Gokudera fussing with both Yamamoto and Lambo. The next one was with Kyoko and Ryohei, Kyoko now being the boxer and her brother cowering under her mighty fist. The next was Bianchi sunbathing with Gokudera fainting in the background. Switching to the next one, he found Haru, Kyoko, I-pin, and Bianchi cooking with his mom.

And with the final switch, he was staring at himself with Fuuta. They both weren't looking toward the camera, but instead, were smiling at each other. Tsuna remembered, as he noticed the can of bubbles and bubble tools around them, that they were both blowing little bubbles on the porch. But he didn't recall having a picture taken of it.

"Ah…" Tsuna looked up to find his mother also taking a stare at the picture. "I was watching and couldn't resist taking a picture. It was a perfect 'Kodak' moment, very cute." She grasped the edge of the picture and giggled. "You two really do look like brothers here. Fuuta is like your younger brother."

Tsuna looked down to the picture again and a smile formed. "Yeah…"

-x-

"You know, Fuuta does have his own family." Reborn reminded Tsuna quietly one day in his student's room. "He will have to return to them sooner or later."

Tsuna, undeniably, was uncomfortable. "…Of course."

"He would probably like to see them, to know of his real family. It would be good for him." The baby stood up from his seat on the window sill and jumped down to the floor. "He's a good member of our family, but he would need to know of his real family that he had barely spent time with. I'm sure his family would be wondering about how Fuuta's faring."

Tsuna agreed, as it was logical. "Yes… but…"

Reborn lifted his fedora a bit to glimpse at his pupil's discontent expression. "But?"

"Yes, I agree with you fully that Fuuta should meet with his family…" Tsuna then glanced at his tutor, who still had the same passive expression, waiting for him to continue. "It's just a sinking feeling… to think that Fuuta wouldn't be around for long."

"He can't be here forever, Tsuna." Reborn replied sharply. "That would be selfish of you."

"I-I know…" Tsuna answered. "It would be selfish of me to say so. And you're right... I'm glad that he was able to spend happy times with us. He's become a great part of the family, and he's become quite attached to us too." Then he sighed. "But he'll need to go. I understand that much. And I can see why you bring it up now, because it would be much harder later."

Reborn nodded, seeing that his student had understood his intentions. "It's not like he's being shunned, Tsuna. We'll always welcome him warmly."

"Of course we will."

And Reborn left the room, stopping at the stairs a few feet away. He could hear the laughter of the children downstairs, Lambo's clearly echoing through the house and faintly behind… was Fuuta's little laugh.

Reborn also considered Fuuta as part of the family. Fuuta, though, needed to meet with his real family hands down. But the glint shadowing the hitman's eyes said otherwise. Reborn couldn't help but feel rather uncomfortable about it as well. He would never show it, he may admit it… Either way, he was still debating whether or not he and his student should take precautions.

And with that, he descended.

-x-

**With what I've got in mind so far, it ain't lookin' so purty. But not enough to reach for a box of tissues. So don't worry. At least be assured that I won't kill him (that would suck… on ice); you would all probably hate me for it. Heck, I'd even hate myself since Fuuta's my fave.**


	14. Taller

**Taller**

-x-

"Hey, Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna called out, meeting her at the school gates. "I'm glad you're still here." He gave her a sheepish smile.

She smiled. "Hello, Tsuna-kun. Do you need something?" She really wasn't expecting him to still be around.

"Ah, no." He straightened up, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just… I met up with your brother during the day. He told me that you would be staying behind a little bit to finish up your project for science…"

Kyoko nodded. "Yep. It's taking longer than I thought. How far are you on it?"

"Me?" He chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, well… I haven't started on it yet…"

"Is that so… I'd be happy to help you!" She suggested happily, giving a little nod.

"That would be great, I'll really need it," then he paused. "…but that's not what I'm here for." She gave him a confused face, and he continued. "You see, since it's getting late, your brother asked me to walk you home as he is going to be busy with his club activities…"

"Oh…" Now that he's pointed it out, she realized that the evening was definitely not willing to wait. "That's very kind of you, Tsuna-kun."

"No problem. So… shall we go?" He then took a step forward, and she quickly followed behind.

She then asked after a few moments, "Have you really not started on the project?"

"Oh, yeah… I haven't. It's very confusing and length… and I don't understand it." Tsuna coughed. "But I'm surely going to try to finish and turn it in on time."

Kyoko looked on ahead now, a simple smile on her face.

"How's Haru been doing?" Tsuna asked after a few strides.

"She's been doing great." Kyoko looked back at her company. "She's been working on many new costumes and they look really cute. We also go out every so often too… Have you not been able to see her?"

The brunette shook his head. "Not as much as I'd like. I'm glad she's doing okay."

"…How's everyone at your house?"

"They're doing fine. Lambo's as loud as ever. Reborn appearing out of nowhere. And you know Bianchi…" He gave a slight chuckle, being joined with a little giggle from her.

"I probably should make a visit soon."

"That would be cool. And I'm sure Ryohei-nii would like to come along too."

She smiled. "Yes, he really would."

There, they were plagued by another gloomy silence. They weren't even halfway to her house, and this silence certainly planned to stay.

For some odd reason, Kyoko didn't like the feel of the silence. She suddenly felt the need to strike up another topic for conversation, even if it was going to last for two seconds. It seemed that just a short, random conversation was a thousand times better than just walking along silently in the dark. And it struck her really hard as she wondered why she felt this way, walking with Tsuna.

She's known Tsuna for nearly three years now. They were great friends and have experienced a lot together. She never felt awkward or uncomfortable with him, but… what's this? Why now? What was so different now that made her feel this way? And why does she realize it now of all times?

At the moment, she was just looking at the road, but being curious, she glanced over to Tsuna.

He didn't look nervous at all. She remembered back then that whenever they talked with each other, he would have a funny look on his face and start stuttering and rambling. But looking at him now, it was clearly different; he had definitely matured. For the first time she realized that she had heard no stuttering and mistakes in his words. He was straight with his answers - not stumbling over them at an unreasonable pace - and very sure of what he was saying. Putting aside personality and acting, he didn't look any different. Chocolate hair, brown eyes. A friendly look on his face. His voice altered to a lower tone, but that was already a year ago. Nope. There was nothing, but surely there had to be something. And she just couldn't place a finger on it.

Tsuna suddenly slapped himself, causing a nowstartled Kyoko to jump an inch off the ground and look away.

"Ah, sorry." He lifted his hand away from his cheek to reveal a splattered fly, smothered and dead. Kyoko gave a distasteful expression as he wiped his dirtied hand on his pants. "That's just great… and gross." He muttered and frowned as he searched his pockets for a napkin of some sort, considering to resort to the natural sleeve wipe.

"Here." Kyoko stepped toward him, taking out her handkerchief. She stood next to him and reached up, wiping away the bug splatter. But as she did so, she was struck with that strange (and now awkward) feeling. It really surprised her and the surprise doubled as the handkerchief somehow flew right out of her hands, being taken away by a strong gust of wind. Her eyes trailed after it, then she glanced at Tsuna with no thought.

"…Let's go after it." He suggested quickly, already heading off toward it.

"Oh, no. It's fine, fine…" Even though it was her favorite, she thought darkly.

"No, let's go get it." He turned around to look at her. "You always have that handkerchief with you. It must be your favorite right?"

She simply blinked at him, then gave a slow nod. His assumption was amazingly dead on. And with that, she found herself following him. She had no idea where there were going, as the street they were on was one she hardly ever passed. She guessed that Tsuna was just following the wind, as it was the likeliest way the little kerchief could have flown. They really only traveled a straight route, ending up in a small park surrounded by bushes and trees.

"It's got to be around here somewhere..." Tsuna mumbled to himself absently as he began to look around.

"Umm.." Kyoko set down her bag on the nearby bench and pointed over to the playground. "I'll look over there." She first looked around the slide, under it, over it, inside of it. Not there. She then took her chances to the elevated play area, with bridges and walls to climb. No luck there. She knew the possibility of it being of the swings was slim, but she decided to check anyway. Not there. She passed by Tsuna, who was busy looking inside the bushes that were wisely laid out to surround the play place.

Stepping around the sand box, she ducked down a bit to study a red bench. She then sat down on the bench and sighed, looking up into the sky. It was getting dark, as the color of the sky mixed with hues of pink and orange, the blue absent. She could already spot flickering stars appearing with the night. She then looked at Tsuna, who was busy searching close by. "It's alright, Tsuna-kun. You can stop looking."

She was quickly stared at by determined eyes and given a small shake of the head. He continued with his search. "No, let's find it."

"It's not that important." To this, he didn't respond.

Kyoko began to be a little frustrated with herself. She didn't know why, but she wanted to stop. She didn't want to stay, looking for something of hers that got lost. She didn't know why she wanted to stop looking for it. She was confused as to why she gave up so easily. It bothered her immensely why she was being like this. It was very unlike her, she knew… And with a simple glance at Tsuna, she could tell that he knew that too. Suddenly, she felt disgusted and angry at herself. Somehow, though it was something petty, she felt like she could cry. She knew it wasn't because of the lost handkerchief. It absolutely wasn't Tsuna's fault. She wanted to cry, but that was a foolish thing. Not in front of Tsuna. Not with a good reason.

…Probably it was because Tsuna was trying so hard… for her, looking for her handkerchief. She wondered why he was trying so hard. It's her thing that they're looking for. Sure, it's out of kindness, but she didn't feel the need for him to keep on this kind of determination. It made her feel like a burden… something that she definitely didn't want to be. Not to Tsuna. Not when he's doing his best… Not like this.

She hung her head back and blinked at the white folded blur through her glossy eyes. It was an odd blur, out of place in the mass of darkened green leaves and the growing night. She took a quick swipe to her near tears eyes and turned around, still trying to figure out what the white was. And as her vision cleared, she realized it was her handkerchief.

She stepped over the hedges and stood below her handkerchief, which was stuck between to thin branches right above her. It seemed tightly caught and somewhat abused, but there was no rips and major damage. She smiled and reached up for it, realizing that it was much higher than she thought. She then took a second try, this time on her toes, reaching with might.

And she nearly lost her balance, until a hand supported her back. She gently felt the ground underneath her heels and she found Tsuna next to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked with a troubled face.

"I'm fine." She simply answered, still looking at him.

He then reached out his other hand for the handkerchief, easily grasping and taking it out of the branches. But as he did so, Kyoko couldn't help but watch with a new realization.

She was looking up at him. She had always thought that they were nearly the same height, but never noticed how much taller he had grown. It wasn't too much, not as tall as Yamamoto, but it was enough to force her to look up. He was taller.

By this time, Tsuna had used his other hand to wipe away dirt and flecks off the handkerchief. He waved it a bit to give a final check and folded it up into a neat square, now looking toward Kyoko. "Is something wrong?"

Kyoko, for once, flustered. "Ah, no… everything is fine." And after receiving back her kerchief, she mumbled a quiet thank you.

Now, she found him grinning. "Let's go home. It's getting late, later than I would want." He jumped over the hedge and lent out a hand for her as she stepped over the hedge. "Finding that handkerchief took longer than I thought."

"Yes, it really did." She quickly retrieved her handbag and joined Tsuna at the street.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tsuna asked, this time for assurance.

"I'm fine. I'm alright." She answered plainly.

-x-

"I'm home!" Tsuna called out, removing his shoes at the entrance.

"Welcome back. " His mother greeted him by peeking her head out of the kitchen, holding a small pot of stew. "You're a little late today…"

"Yeah, I walked Kyoko home."

"Oh, really?" She gave a nice smile. "We're going to eat soon. Can you get Reborn? He's upstairs."

"Yeah." Tsuna answered, making his way up the stairs. As soon as he reached the last step, his ears was met with a BANG! and a rubber bullet hit his forehead dead on. He nearly fell back and would've fallen too, if he hadn't grabbed on to the railing. He regained his balance and growled angrily at the smiling hitman with his green gun pointed at him. "Reborn! What was that for?"

The hitman didn't say anything as he watched his student angrily stomp toward his room, complaining about how his forehead won't stop hurting for weeks. Reborn then looked up at the ceiling above the stairs, which slanted downwards like the stairs, and he spotted the dark marker of where he was supposed to have hit.

"I've never failed to hit that spot, the same spot I always target whenever he comes home." He then smiled smugly. "Today, I missed."

-x-

**And because Reborn missed, he took his revenge by eating his student's share of dinner because mentioned student got taller. :D … I know, girls don't exactly fall in love just because the dude is tall. (Psshhh, if that was the case then I'd be in love with nearly every boy I pass by here…blegh; This one, our dear Tsuna, is not exactly tall, but we all admit he's cute.) He's bound to get taller and Kyoko's view of him has completely changed in a new angle. Sure, we love him as the shorty of the group, but it's time to grow up. :P I know Primo grew up all tall(er) and manly and pretty darn awesome-looking! FROM NOW ON imagine this - Tsuna and Manliness. Okay, I'm done. :X**


	15. At Last

**At Last**

**-x-**

"_Mother! Mother! I had that weird dream again."_

It came again. This dream. Hazy and strange. My parents never had this look on their face before.

"_Mana, hun. Really, quit that." My mother looked angry._

"_No, I had that dream again. That man came!"_

He came, he always came. Every time.

"_That's it!" My father shouted loudly. "There's something wrong with our daughter! Who's this man she's always speaking about?" It was to mom. They started arguing again._

But that man really came. He always came. And he had this present for me, a present that I never saw. It was small though and it glowed. It made me happy. I didn't know what it was.

-x-

It was a whole year since the dreams started. I ended up in the hospital during the time, with failing health - incurable disease - they said. They told me at my first admittance in the hospital that I wouldn't be able to see the snow. Two months they gave me. But I passed two months. It's been a complete ten months now.

My name is Mana. I am eleven years old. I really had no reason to keep on living, but God still wanted me to live. I didn't know why though. I have no story. I was always sick. I always stayed home, always with a caretaker. My friends were nurses, doctors, and caretakers and the few stuffed animals that I'd receive. My mother would still visit me, but not as often as before. I didn't know where father was. He disappeared one day when I brought up my dream again on a day he didn't want to hear it.

Nothing ever happened to me. All I ever saw was white and clean. The smell was always stagnant and disinfected. It was routine everyday. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Take medicine. Do whatever I liked until lunch. Walk around the hospital. Talk with old people. Take more medicine. Go study. Eat dinner. Sleep. Then it repeats. Since nothing ever happened to me, the dreams were new and interesting.

My parents had brushed off my dreams as something silly at first, but when I told them nearly every other day that it was the same dream over and over again, they began to worry. Doctors didn't know what to do about it either. They tried tapping into my dreams, but they couldn't "find" it. My parents told me to ignore it, but how could I, when they grew to be more vivid and long? It became a problem. They all thought it was probably because of my disease. I was in denial, they said, scared to die. I don't think so, since I know I was going to die sooner or later.

And also, these dreams weren't scary and horrible. It was simple, but brought warmth… it made me happy to have the dream. If anything, I knew these dreams weren't bad like they said. I heard from one of the nurses that having a dream repeated over and over again meant that it might actually come true. I wondered if that was true, possible.

I never had anything to believe. But there's one now. I think I'm still alive because of what these dreams are trying to tell me. If that's true, then I think I know why I'm happy to have this queer dream. Because it gives me the sense of purpose. And I can actually say after I die that my life wasn't useless, not just a dying soul who everyone pitied.

I still find it odd though that everyone find this confidence of mine bad.

-x-

I had a visitor today. I never had a visitor - only doctors, nurses, and my occasional mother.

But I had a visitor today.

It was a man I've never seen. He didn't look like anyone from around here. He was tall and much older than me. He had asked the nurse to leave, but learned that was not possible. He seemed to look rather disheartened, but never minded it. He was a tall, rugged man. His clothes were plain, probably a little tattered. His hair was brown, matching his eyes. And when he looked at me, his first look at me, he smiled.

Never in my life have I seen the first look toward me be a smile. This man was different.

I didn't know him, but I liked him.

He sat down next to my bed and grinned awkwardly. "I'm sorry… that I look like this. Bad first impression of me, yes?" I shook my head. I've only seen professionals, dressed nice and neat. Never had I seen someone like you. I like you already. "No… not bad at all."

"Is that so?" His English was strange… I understood what he was saying though. This must be his accent I'm noticing. I liked that too. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada." The name made me laugh. I didn't mean to laugh, but it was so unexpected. It was long and hard to pronounce. "Zuwa…Tusuna?" He laughed along with me. "You have a funny name." But I liked it.

"I'd think so if I were you, since we're so far away from where I was born." He tilted his head in wonder. "Just call me Tsuna…" He said his name clearly, though I knew I would probably have trouble with the 'Tsu-' part.

"Where are you from?" I blurted out. I didn't mean to ask, but I guess curiosity got the best of me.

He stood up from the chair and walked over to the other side of my bed, going toward the world map that was framed in the wall. I spotted where I was from, since mommy told me. My country was shaped weird and was rather small compared to the other green lands that it was between. I followed his hand which moved farther away from mine, across one of the large green lands that I mentioned. His hand stopped on a small little piece of land at the very edge of the big land. It was shaped like a boot. "Here, I am from here. Japan."

"Japan?"

"Yes." He went back to where he was sitting before and looked at me. "Far away huh?"

I simply nodded, waiting for him to say more. I was excited to hear more from him. He was like a box of surprises. I wondered what he would say next.

"Forgive me, but truly, I do not know your name. Tell me, what is your name?" He said quietly.

"Mana." I answered shortly. I wondered if it was rude to answer so quick and short, but he looked pleased.

"Mana, I'd like to give you something. A gift for being such a wonderful listener." I hadn't noticed he had a little backpack on him. He set it out in front of him and zipped it open, taking out a pink little bag that was tied at the top with a red bow.

"What is it? What's that?" I suddenly felt excited, like I was bottling in all the curiosity and giddiness in me.

Unexpectedly, the bag began to glow a different color. It was orange. And very pretty. I felt myself fill with a new filling and I began to smile. I looked at him, which instantly changed my expression. Mr. Tsuna had a tired look on his face. He was smiling, but it looked… not complete. He looked tired and weary, equal to that as a bored person. He was holding the little bag gently but tight, as if he was longing for something… But then his eyes averted from the bag to me, and his smile grew soft. He held out his large hand and I placed mine in his.

He delicately placed the silky pink bag in my hand and I felt it weigh down a bit. It was still glowing and I was eager to open up the bag and see what was glowing inside. But I pulled out an odd object, very foreign and gray. I wasn't sure if I should be fascinated or disappointed. I looked at Mr. Tsuna for answers, but he shook his head. "That there is a pacifier. It's very special and I want you to hold on to it for me."

"Why?"

"Just because." Strangely, I was okay with this answer.

"Forever?"

"No, not forever." He answered flatly, going deep into thought. I was a little bit disheartened at this, but what he said next uplifted me again. "Right now, it won't glow. One day, it will."

"Really?" So this little pacifier will glow one day? … was there a way to make it glow? I asked him this too.

"Mmm… I actually don't know. If I knew how, I would've made all seven of them glowed a _long _time ago..." He laughed it off quickly though and continued, "…Probably not now or in a month or so…But It will definitely glow..." He had that really distant look on his face again, as if he was hurting. In response, I held his hand. He seemed surprised by my gesture, and I was too.

"I like you, Mr. Tsuna." I said with a smile, hoping it would lift up his spirits. It seemed like it did, since he smiled.

"Thank you, Mana. I like you, too." He patted me on the head, taking out trailing strands of hair off my face. "You're a good girl. And please, do not ever let that pacifier go. Always keep it with you."

The nurse stepped forward, which made me slightly worried since her expression was dead serious. "Is that dangerous?"

"No, not at all. Just a present I wanted to give her."

The nurse argued. "But you barely even know her -"

"PLEASE STOP!" I yelled loudly, "No. No. This is my present. I like Mr Tsuna. I trust him. Please stop." The nurse still had the same look, but I glared at her, waiting for her to back off.

But I still couldn't help but ask. "Is it really not dangerous?" He laughed and I felt a little embarrassed.

He shook his head and patted me on the head again. "No, you won't be in danger. That pacifier is special. It will definitely keep you safe. Just always have it."

"Okay." I felt reassured. I knew I could trust Mr Tsuna. He was nice. He was kind and gentle.

But I felt a pang of hurt at his next words. "Well, I must be going now."

"What?" I blinked. "Already?"

"Yeah… I can't stay." He had a frown on his face.

"Why not?" I asked carefully.

"I have a job." He then gave me a thumbs up. " I was told I need to work hard so I can go home."

"To Japan? That far away?" I didn't want him to go. Not this fast.

"Yeah, but not instantly."

I then sat on my knees in my bed now. "So you can come visit me again?" The expression on his face looked sad, and I wished I never asked that question. I received another warm pat on the head. He wasn't going to come back, I knew. And he assured me too. But even so, that's okay. I am already happy knowing that I was visited by him.

"I don't think I can make a second visit." He said quietly. "You might not recognize me the next time we meet."

I shook my head. "No, I would. I like you Mr Tsuna. No one has ever visited me. I will always remember you, Mr Tsuna."

"Is that so…" He smiled, but I knew that the distant feeling overwhelmed him again. "Anyway, I'm glad to have met you, Mana." I nodded heartily, smiling. "Me too!"

He tapped on the little pacifier I was holding in my hands. "Always keep it with you. Take care of it. And it will definitely glow for you."

"Yes, I will."

He was going to leave. I knew. Even though he looked at me for a few moments, conversed with the nurse a little, and gave me another glance, he was leaving. I was sad. He couldn't stay.

He was gone. And I never saw him again.

-x-

I woke up again. Looking beside me, it was only 4:32 a.m. What an odd time for me to wake up. I never woke up at this time.

But I had that dream again. It was so clear. And I remember it all. His name was Mr Tsuna. A very kind and friendly man. And he gave me -gave me… I found the little pink bag sitting right beside me and I pulled out the pacifier. I held it close, feeling the cold surface against my cheek. The gray had turned to orange to my surprise. I had noticed this when an explosion was seen through my window, far away, but the orange flares still seen, rising to the skies.

I had that dream again. And the dream came true.

-x-

**So… THIS is new. The long awaited start to the explanation of Tsuna's disappearance (should I have said that?). Not in chronological order, but I'm sure you can figure out where the pieces go. :D Yes, this Tsuna can speak English (just this time you didn't get to see his quirks. By now, he's polished his skills).  
**

**I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT! Haha, and you think I'm a planner. [gets shot]**

**- Joosh **


	16. Of Star

**De La Stella**

**-x-**

"We've found Fuuta's family." Reborn reported one late, cold night. He was standing on the window sill, a passive look on his face. A folder rustled in his hand, which was soon dropped onto Tsuna's lap.

Tsuna was on the floor. His video game controller dropped off his knee when the folder fell. He stared down at the vanilla folder that was rather light with few papers and probably a picture in it. His eyes then trailed to the sleeping figures nearby. Lambo was sprawled out on the floor, his own controller atop his tummy. He was deep asleep, his snoring loud and clear. Then his eyes strolled to Fuuta, who was sleeping on his bed which Tsuna was leaning against. He too was deep asleep, but his snores were light and less distracting. His eyes fell back to the vanilla folder and he pushed it away. He didn't want to open it.

"Tsuna…" Reborn started.

"Why now?" Tsuna muttered bitterly.

Reborn could feel the disappointment in his voice and actions. "We just found his family. We're still in the process of contacting them." He paused for a moment, wondering if there was going to be response. With only silence in reply, he continued. "The folder has their information. Look over it, then get ready to explain to Fuuta." Just as he was about to leave, Tsuna responded.

"…When does he leave?"

"Don't know… Soon."

-x-

Tsuna decided to take Fuuta out for ice cream a handful of days after. Of course, Lambo decided to tag along too.

"Mom, we're going now!" Tsuna called out.

"Alright, stay safe!" His mother replied all the way from the kitchen.

Once outside the door, Lambo started hopping about. "Ne, ne, what ice cream shop? Where?" Fuuta couldn't help but laugh at the excitement of Lambo. Tsuna scanned through all the ice cream shops he knew of. "Hmm… probably in town… or maybe that small shop down the street? There's also that ice cream cart -"

"No! I want the one in town! Town!" Lambo was tugging both them by the sleeves. "Let's go!" As the were dragged down the road by the eight year old, Tsuna and Fuuta laughed.

"Lambo seems overly excited today."

"Yeah, he is, isn't he?"

Lambo had let them go once they were already in the town districts, passing by many people who were window shopping and strolling with shopping carts. Tsuna, being the tallest of the bunch for once, was able to spot the ice cream shop a few strides ahead and led the way. They quickly entered the shop, due to Lambo's zeal, and found it teeming with other children. Tsuna was slightly worried about losing Lambo in the crowd and before he knew it, the eight year old was already holding a special deluxe ice cream as large as his head. A chunk of the goodness was already being devoured. Tsuna grimaced as he had to pass his budget and pull money out of his pockets, but dismissed it when Fuuta began to protest about getting one. In the end, they were able to find a table for them on the second floor of the shop, which had a great view of the shopping area and parts of the city.

"Oh, I see our school from here!" Fuuta picked it out in the distance. Lambo was looking too, soon laughing proudly at the thought of his new height above the world. Tsuna simply smiled at the two.

Lambo was busily gobbling up his deluxe ice cream, which was packed with marshmallows, caramel syrup, sprinkles, wafers, and two other different flavors as sides. Next to him was Fuuta, who was eating his cone of cookies and crème, and Tsuna, who sat on the other side of the table, had a vanilla swirl in hand.

Fuuta was watching Lambo with a smile on his face, but it soon changed when his eyes fell on his older brother's expression. "Tsuna-nii?" Tsuna's expression was strange, fairly serious as if he was making a hard decision. Fuuta called out his name again, now receiving attention. "Yeah, Fuuta?"

"Are you okay?" Fuuta looked at him. "You are very quiet…"

Tsuna blinked at him, a surprised look on his face. "Ah… Y-Yeah! Yeah… I am…" He saw the unconvinced look on Fuuta's face and tried to hold up a front… which lasted for a mere ten seconds of silence. He gave in. "Okay… I'm not doing so great."

Fuuta set down his almost finished cone on the table, his hands still lightly wrapped around it. "Is something wrong?"

"…" Tsuna set down his cone too. "…Yeah…"

Lambo took the last bite of his ice cream, licking his lips happily. He looked at the two with him, noticing a somber aura clearly reigning over the two. Normally, he would've interrupted, but he suddenly felt like it wasn't his place to interrupt. He busied himself with any leftovers of his ice cream.

Fuuta started to worry. He knew Tsuna didn't normally act like this, doing something fun just to sulk. There definitely was something wrong, and he didn't exactly like the feel of it. He began once again after a while, "…What is it?" The look on Tsuna's face seemed really puzzled and distraught. It was like he didn't know what to say, or rather, that he didn't want to say anything.

"I'm sorry…" Tsuna muttered. "I'm the worst… for being like this today."

"Tsuna-nii?" Chocolate eyes watched him intently now, which caused Fuuta to straighten up in his seat.

Tsuna laid down his head on the table, seemingly defeated. "Of all days…" All Fuuta could do was watch quietly, until he said more. "…But I guess it is best. No better time than now." Even Lambo stopped to listen too. To him, this Tsuna was strange.

"Fuuta…" Tsuna, with his head turned to the side, stared out the window overlooking the town. "…we found your family." He looked really confused… "It's not like I'm against it or anything…. I'm happy, I really am, that we found your family because we can contact them and talk to them and…" His voice trailed away again. "But I can't help but feel a little bit sad…"

"You found… my family?" Fuuta questioned. Tsuna looked at the young thirteen year old, and his face surprised him. It was a look of disbelief. The boy definitely couldn't believe it.

"Yes… we found your family. They still reside in Italy, now living in a small town at the south." Tsuna tried to remember details on the papers he received from Reborn. "It's a family of four, including you. Your mother, father, and younger brother… and you."

Fuuta looked down at his now melting ice cream. It was no good to eat anymore… it was warm. "I have a family?"

Tsuna looked confused now. "Of course you do… Did you not know?"

Fuuta looked at Tsuna with honest eyes, shaking his head slowly. "I didn't."

**-x-**

**Fufufufu. I've been gone forever huh? |D **  
**Well, summer is around the corner and I think it's about time I started updating my things. 8D**

Of course... I had to return with a pretty depressing chapter... OTL


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